No Place to Hide
Open floor plans correlate with 67% higher incidence of bullying, according to a new study. What’s an office manager to do?
The awkwardness and outright bullying was persistent: Colleagues stopped talking when she approached, didn’t invite her to group lunches, and “accidentally” left her off calendar invites for meetings happening 15 feet away. Coworkers loudly pointed out her mistakes, and a suspiciously large number of disruptive conversations were taking place right next to her desk. Yet it was tricky for her manager to pinpoint the issue and, more importantly, to solve it: All of the desks were configured in an open floor plan.
As the ongoing embrace of open office plans continues, workers have discovered a tough side effect. Employees in open offices have a 67% higher risk of being bullied than those in other office configurations, according to a new study of 3,300 Swedish workers published in the journal Occupational Health Science. Nearly 13% of workers reported bullying. “When people have no place to go, some are going to bully others—it’s human nature,” says HR expert Ron Porter, a senior partner at Korn Ferry.
This is potentially a pressing issue for a substantial number of workers—nearly half of them, in fact: Approximately one-third work in open floor plans, and another 13% in semi-open, task-designed arrangements, with dedicated spaces for solo work and collaborative meetings. The researchers found that bullying risks remain high regardless of other factors, such as hybrid schedules or the personality traits of those involved. Simply put, the floor plan is the problem.
Firms have been bullish on open floor plans for two decades, due to their well-known benefits: Employees communicate and collaborate more, and fresh ideas emerge. The trend peaked after firms ordered more people back to offices after the pandemic, while at the same time reducing space to save on costs. Typically, however, the change requires an adjustment, as anyone who has transitioned from a private office to an open floor space can attest. Jeff Constable, co-leader of the Global Financial Officers practice at Korn Ferry, oversaw a transition to an open floor plan at another firm before the pandemic. “There were some growing pains, and in the end it was hugely positive,” he says.
But for those experiencing bullying, or just awkwardness, the price is high. In a communal setting, people are much more likely to be distracted or irritated by a neighbor’s behavior, says psychologist Karen Huang, senior director of search assessment at Korn Ferry. One employee’s habit of gum-chewing or rocking or clicking their nails on a keyboard—any of which might go unnoticed in a private office—is suddenly on view, all day every day. Those with less typical office behaviors might find themselves literally on display. Irritation and frustration ensue. “It can really bring out the dormant characteristics that one might have when cranky,” says Huang. The recipient of the bullying has nowhere to hide.
Bullying in these settings can also be expressed in terms of social dynamics. Everyone can see who is talking to whom, who is lunching with whom, and which staffers head off to meetings together. “There is a hierarchy that’s going to develop in open realms, and sometimes it’s just who speaks the loudest,” says Dennis Deans, global human resources business partner for Korn Ferry.
The researchers advise companies to provide some form of private space for employees to retreat to—typically, separate spaces for certain types of work. This can provide relief to bullies as well as the bullied, both of whom might be acting out due to stress. Indeed, the study found that offices with separate, task-designed spaces show no elevated risk for bullying. An added benefit: These spaces can also provide relief for introverts, who often find it exhausting and distracting to be in the middle of everything, says Kendra Marion, vice president for global assessment services at Korn Ferry. “We need to make open work spaces feel comfortable—and not just by creating tiny, windowless phone rooms.”
Experts also suggest that office managers be made aware of the heightened potential for bullying in these settings. Firms tend to assume that an open office is a largely positive environment, says Huang. “Definitely let managers and leaders know that hey, this is a risk.”
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