Research: Cubicles are hazardous to employees’ health
January 19, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Fun stuff on the Web, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Has an employee ever said to you, “This job is killing me!” If they work in a cubicle, they may not be exaggerating. Well, maybe just a little.
An Australian university professor says 90% of research on the subject shows working in open-plan offices (cubicles) has negative outcomes, causing high levels of stress, conflict, high blood pressure, a high staff turnover and boils.
OK, we’re kidding about the boils.
Dr. Vinesh Oommen from the Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation told The Queensland Times, “the evidence we found was absolutely shocking.”
Dr. Oommen said the high noise level causes employees to lose concentration, leading to low productivity.
It’s safe to say no one expects companies around the country to start converting from open-plan to small private offices. So what should employees do to survive the cubicle jungle?
The New York Daily News sought advice from Janet Zinn, a licensed clinical social worker in Manhattan. “Play music if you can, to help screen out other workers.”
Zinn also says employees shouldn’t deny their feelings about a stressful workplace. “It doesn’t help you cope, and it can make you feel worse in some ways.”
Tags: cubicles, open-plan offices, stress
January 19th, 2009 at 8:16 am
I absolutely vouch for this article. I’m no research scientist, but I am one of the cubicle-assigned masses. I have one co-worker that has an issue with volume control, one co-worker who makes personal phone calls all day, and one co-worker who chews her cud, er, gum, VERY loudly. The best invention is ear plugs. I got some weird looks at first, but with my ADD (seriously) I cannot concentrate on my job and their crap. I sometimes play music, but what works better is to turn on my fan and/or heater (same device) and put in the ear plugs. I tell my boss they are my “door” so I can concentrate. He supports it if I get my work done better. Plus, you can still hear the phone and participate in phone calls if your hearing is normal. They just drown out the crud.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:43 am
That’s fine for people with normal hearing. I am deaf in one ear and wear an aid in the other for a 60% loss. I have the same problem. Loud radio from one guy, No offense but “hen house cackling” for long periods of the day, and loud phone conversations. Besides when I am on the phone and someone ventures into my cubicle to converse with me, they start talking and I can’t distinguish there conversation from the person on the phone because everything the person in my cubicle says goes into the mouthpiece of the phone and comes through the earpiece. It’s driving me NUTS.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
We also have many rude cubicle employees. Very loud, use speaker phone, talk all day. I have spoken with these employees but after a while they go right back. It seems an unfixable problem.