Why your brain has to work harder in an open-plan office than private offices

"Since the pandemic, offices around the world have quietly shrunk. Many organizations don't need as much floor space or as many desks, given many staff now do a mix of hybrid work from home and the office. But on days when more staff are required to be in, office spaces can feel noticeably busier and noisier. Despite so much focus on getting workers back into offices, there has been far less focus on the impacts of returning to open-plan workspaces."

"Participants completed simulated office tasks, such as monitoring notifications, reading and responding to emails, and memorizing and recalling lists of words. Each participant was monitored while completing the tasks in two different settings: an open-plan workspace with colleagues nearby, and a small enclosed work "pod" with clear glazed panels on one side."

"As neuroscientist Susan Hillier explains in more detail, different brain waves reveal distinct mental states: "gamma" is linked with states or tasks that require more focused concentration "beta" is linked with higher anxiety and more active states, with attention often directed externally "alpha" is linked with being very relaxed, and passive attention (such as listening quietly but not engaging) "theta" is linked with deep relaxation and inward focus"

Twenty-six participants aged mid-20s to mid-60s wore wireless EEG headsets while completing simulated office tasks including monitoring notifications, reading and replying to emails, and memorizing and recalling lists. Tasks were completed in two settings: an open-plan workspace with nearby colleagues and a small enclosed work pod with clear glazed panels. Frontal brain regions associated with attention and filtering distractions were monitored, and gamma, beta, alpha and theta waves were measured. Open-plan conditions produced higher indicators of cognitive effort and externally directed attention, and reduced indicators of relaxed, passive attention, indicating increased brain workload in open-plan spaces.

Read at Phys