The *Real* Reason Open Offices Bother Us So Much: An Interview with Ethan Bernstein, Professor at Harvard Business School
You might have read a recent article in the Harvard Business Review called The Transparency Trap by Ethan Bernstein about the fallacy of open work and workplaces – how they are designed to encourage innovation and creativity – but often have the reverse effect. Despite how much leaders (and their architects) love the idea of connecting people by removing boundaries and barriers, many of their employees are still having trouble getting used to the idea of working in the open (physically or metaphorically), and the reasons why are many. Ethan’s research with factory workers in China and several western companies uncovers the psychology behind our “uncomfortableness” with transparency. He also provides practical solutions for helping managers (and those of us designing work spaces) think differently about the way we approach open work and work environments. When I got the chance to interview Ethan Bernstein, I had a long list of questions for him! He graciously shares some insights with me here.
LS: Ethan, if you are at a cocktail party (with non-academics) what would you tell people you do at Harvard?
Ethan Bernstein: I study the impact of increasingly transparent workplaces on behavior and productivity. I’m particularly interested in relationship between these two things. I also teach a first-year MBA leadership and organizational behavior course. We cover leading teams, enhancing interpersonal effectiveness, managing change, and designing companies or institutions in a way that makes people better off and more productive.
We want organizations that breathe life into what we do rather than sucking the life out of us. I think too often we encounter the reverse – that’s part of the challenge of leadership. And that challenge is a moving target. With all of the new surveillance and transparency technologies emerging, leaders have new decisions to make about how they manage their people and organizations. I find the resulting questions fascinating.