50 Open Plan Office Statistics


The layout of an office has a lot to do with its productivity. Therefore, while working on an office layout, it is crucial to consider a few factors. It includes the strength of the company, the level of interaction required, and the work-life balance. Choosing a suitable office layout is pivotal for productivity and progress of a company.  

In this article, we have listed 50 open plan office statistics that may help you decide whether to implement it or not. 

Open Plan Office Layout

Whether you require an open office, a private office, or a combination of both, assess which design would best suit your industry, employee preferences, and job functions. Now, if you are opening an office with an open plan, it will allow your employees to sit close to each other. The design may suit or backfire, which entirely depends on the suitability of it. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages, which may help you decide whether to implement it or not.  

Advantages

– Provides quick and informal communication, which avoids sending messages every time

– Elevates work culture of a company 

– Improves  manager accessibility and sense of transparency

– Creates an extra-space and more room for new recruitment

– Provides a cost-effective solution

– Offers flexibility in case of reshuffling of the seating arrangements

Disadvantages

– Reduces focus due to distractions in the form of noise and movements  

– Eliminates privacy for phone calls and meetings

– May causes a security threat

Without a doubt, open office is the most widely accepted layout. Whether a company is listed in the Forbes 500 or is an aspiring start-up, open office layout is being implemented by everyone. The layout plan has numerous pros but a few cons as well. So, if you have decided to have an open office layout, keep in mind that it should help create a positive company culture. A right plan will not only help you reach new heights of productivity but also creates a pleasant work atmosphere. 

50 Open Plan Office Statistics

Clearly, there are more benefits than drawbacks. Are you still confused? We have got you covered with the top 50 open plan office statistics. It can help you decide whether to go for an open office layout or not. 

1. With the implementation of open space, the utilization of email and office messaging software shot up by 67% and 75%, respectively. (The British Psychological SocietyOpens in a new tab.)

2. As per research on a sample size of 10,000 employees, 95% of respondents said that working privately matters to them the most. However, only 41% of employees were capable of doing so, and 31% had to go outside the office to complete their tasks. (SteelcaseOpens in a new tab.)

3. Employees spend 73% less time in face-to-face interactions when a workspace becomes open. (The British Psychological SocietyOpens in a new tab.)

4. On average, employees lose 86 minutes each day at a workspace due to distractions around. These distractions may be due to the irrelevant speech from employees or funny office pranks. (Research GateOpens in a new tab.)

5. 45% of the employees in the U.S. are less likely to work in open-space offices than employees in other countries. (GenslerOpens in a new tab.

6. 77% of workers believe that open-plan workspace contributed to their productivity. Moreover, 46% of employees working from home feel less stressed than the ones (18%) working in an open-plan workspace. (Cover MagazineOpens in a new tab.

7. Employees are 12% more likely to be happy at the workspace when they get the freedom to work. This is in contrast to the open-space layout, where noise and privacy are the main areas of concern. (GenslerOpens in a new tab.)

8. Open-space office distractions affect employee focus and decrease productivity from 15% to 28%. Despite that, 70% of all U.S. offices follow the open-plan layout. (ForbesOpens in a new tab.)

9. Staff working in open-plan offices are 62% more likely to take sick leaves as compared to the ones working in a private office. Open office employees take an average of 3.1 sick days in a year, compared to 1.8 sick days for employees who worked from home. The core reasons behind such sick building syndrome include headaches, weak immune system, respiratory issues, and stress. (NCBIOpens in a new tab.

10. 31% of workers in the U.S. say they control their original ideas and opinions while on calls due to the lack of privacy offered by open space. Moreover, they think that this kind of working environment allows people to hear and judge them, which creates a negative perception. (RoomOpens in a new tab.)

11. Open offices occupied 3 times less space as compared to the other layouts. (LinkedinOpens in a new tab.)

12. Switching to an open space office boosts email traffic. Additionally, employees in open-space send 56% more emails to other participants. It is mainly because, in open-space, they better recognize employee networks. (EntrepreneurOpens in a new tab.)

13. The hustle and bustle of open-space offices can lead to a 32% fall in employees’ well being and decreases their productivity by 15%. (The TelegraphOpens in a new tab.)  

14. 59% of employees feel that an open space office provides an enjoyable atmosphere; 56% think that it allows them to interact with others (56%). And 55% believe that it helps to build a sense of community around themselves. (DeskmagOpens in a new tab.)

15. Out of the 50 major countries with the highest density of open space offices as compared to their population, Luxembourg, Singapore and Ireland arises as the leaders in this category. Luxembourg has 8.5 new open spaces every year for every 1 million inhabitants. (Coworking ResourcesOpens in a new tab.)

16. As per research on a sample size of 1,000 U.S. employees, 76% do not recommend open offices. The main reasons include lack of privacy (43%), noise due to personal conversations (34%), poor concentration (29%), risk of sensitive data leakage (23%), and (21%) cannot work to their full potential. (BosparOpens in a new tab.)

17. The open-office concept is cost-effective compared to the private office. It allows the business to maximize the office area while minimizing costs. The ratio of advantage is from 3 to 1 or 5 to 1. (WatchdogOpens in a new tab.)

18. One out of five employees found it difficult to effectively complete the task expected from them in an open space layout. (RoomOpens in a new tab.)

119. In a survey of over 12,000 employees in 17 countries, it was found that 49% of UK employees are based in open plan offices; more than twice the global average (23 percent). Meanwhile 17% of workers do not have a fixed work location – due to hot-desking or nomadic working – compared to just eight percent globally. (Workspace InsightOpens in a new tab.)  

20. In a survey of 456 employees from 20 US architecture companies, 86.7% of these companies are working in an open-plan office. (Frontier SinOpens in a new tab.)   

21. Employees prefer a private office over an open-space office as it allows them to focus more. Additionally, open-space involves more multitasking and small distractions. It may cause you to lose focus for more than 20 minutes a day. (BBCOpens in a new tab.)  

22. 90% of recent studies on open-space has shown that it may lead to stress, conflicts, and high blood pressure. (StudyOpens in a new tab.)

23. The culture of traditional office design is vanishing in the U.S. Around 70% of the offices in the country are composed of some kind of open-space design. Only a few companies have moved back into conventional office layout, composing of spaces with walls and doors. (GenslerOpens in a new tab.

24. To avoid the distractions of open-space, around 56% of employees wear headphones frequently. (Flex JobsOpens in a new tab.

25. One out of eight U.S. open space layout employees considers that this kind of environment has forced them to look for a new job. (RoomOpens in a new tab.)

26. Open plan offices are a cost-effective way to build and cheaper to heat or cool as it can save costs up to 20%. (StudyOpens in a new tab.)

27. As per research on a sample size of 4,000 employees (including 400 open plan employees), 31% do not want to work in open space as it lets people hear and judge them. Moreover, 16% of employees feel that it is affecting their health and 13% of them consider it as a strong reason behind leaving a job. (YouGovOpens in a new tab.)  

28. Around 68% of employees complete their job tenure in a traditional office. Despite the wide acceptance of open space offices, the traditional office layout offices are still the most popular option. (ClutchOpens in a new tab.)

29. Employees working at long open tables, i.e., sitting arrangement found in many open office designs, were 20% more active than employees in cubicles. Moreover, employees working in open offices have less self-rated stress. (Bureau of Labor StatisticsOpens in a new tab.)

30. Around 15-20% of the U.S. offices are implementing a fully open-plan layout, i.e., all desks are placed in rows in a room. (FortuneOpens in a new tab.)   

31. Only a small fraction of employees would prefer working in a fully open or an utterly private workspace. Over 77% of employees like to work in an office atmosphere that falls between the open and the private space. It means an office design with a combination of both. (GenslerOpens in a new tab.

32. Research on 231 office workers showed that employees in open-plan offices have 32% more level of physical activity in comparison to the private offices and 20% more than office cubicles. (BBCOpens in a new tab.)

33. As per a survey, around 66% of employees blame open plan offices for greater dissatisfaction and productivity loss than any other single environmental factor. (UK GBCOpens in a new tab.)

34. Open-space layout can accommodate more employees as compared to private offices. For instance, if a private office has five employees, the same amount of space in an open-space could accommodate anywhere from 15 to 25 employees. (LinkedinOpens in a new tab.)

35. Employees in an open space office can be up to 66% less productive, mainly due to the nearby conversations. (Tech RadarOpens in a new tab.)

36. Millennials and Gen Z workers at open space offices have more resistance to deal with distractions than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts. Being tech savvy, the younger workers are used to this kind of environment. Therefore, Gen Z (55%) and Millennials (56%) prefer open offices compared to Gen X (47%) and Baby Boomers (38%). (PolyOpens in a new tab.)

37. Employees are 15% less productive in the open office layout. Mainly, because they face concentration problems even while working in quiet offices. (Robin PoweredOpens in a new tab.

38. Offices that communicate effectively can generate 47% higher profits than their counterparts. Open plan space allows employees to communicate with each other easily, troubleshoot issues, assign tasks, and wrap up a project faster. (HBROpens in a new tab.)

39. 38% of employees believe that open office space encourages knowledge due to sharing of ideas. (SSBOpens in a new tab.)

40. 71.4% of employees in open plan offices say that the design has improved their productivity. On the contrary, only 44.2% of employees in the cellular offices say that design has  improved productivity. (MemooriOpens in a new tab.)

41. Open space offices in Asia-Pacific have the highest share of the overall office stock at 2.1%. It is more than double of what Europe and North America’s share is, which is around 1.0%. (All WorkOpens in a new tab.)

42. One out of eight open space layout office employees feels disconnected from their senior staff working in private offices. (RoomOpens in a new tab.)

43. Open-plan offices cost about 20% less than their traditional layouts. It is because open offices require smaller pieces of furniture with no room separators or temporary partition walls. (StudyOpens in a new tab.)  

44. It is difficult to multitask amidst small distractions as they  cause us to lose focus for around 20 minutes each day. (BBCOpens in a new tab.)

45. As round 16-50% of the employees are introverts. Open plan offices are unsuitable for the people who are introverts as they tend to respond more intensely to sensory stimuli, and rely on undistracting environments to be highly productive. (QuillsOpens in a new tab.)

46. One out of seven U.S. employees working in an open space noticed a decline in their overall quality of health while working in an open space. (RoomOpens in a new tab.)

47. Millennials and Gen Z workers at open space offices have more resistance to deal with distractions than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts. The younger workers are more tech savvy. Hence, they are used to this kind of environment. Therefore, Gen Z (55%) and Millennials (56%) prefer open offices compared to Gen X (47%) and Baby Boomers (38%).  (CIOOpens in a new tab.)

48. The standard open office space square footage in North American is around 150-175 sq. ft per employee. Whereas, in tech companies, the square footage is even less at 125-175 sq. ft. per employee. (Robin PoweredOpens in a new tab.)

49. As per a survey, around 50% of employees considered the lack of sound privacy as a big area of concern for them. Moreover, more than 30% objected to the lack of visual privacy.,(Science DirectOpens in a new tab.)

50. 87% of employees favored cell offices, 8% preferred open space offices, and 5% of them feel satisfied with their job while working in flex offices. (SSBOpens in a new tab.)


Check out similar statistics summaries we have prepared:

– 50 Workplace Stress StatisticsOpens in a new tab.

– 120 Employee engagement statisticsOpens in a new tab.

– 100 Employee engagement factsOpens in a new tab.

– 100 Workplace Security StatisticsOpens in a new tab.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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