After we published a story about the study, responses poured in from readers, who have detailed the impact open plan offices have had on their work and mental health. Crucially, these responses reveal that while open plan offices might be bad for everyone’s productivity, they tend to make work more difficult for women, who are scrutinized for their appearance at a far greater extent than men. The open plan office exacerbates the power dynamics already at play in work environments, as the #MeToo movement has revealed. As one reader put it: “Regardless of the shape the walls make, women should be made to feel like they belong.”
These are their responses. They have been lightly edited for clarity.
OPEN OFFICES CAN MAKE SEXUAL HARASSMENT WORSE
“Your article was the first one I’ve read about open plan offices that alluded to any sort of sexism, so I wanted to thank you for putting it out there. I worked at a tiny startup (~10 people with three women) and we utilized two floors of a brownstone as an office. The floors were essentially open space, with tiny side offices (and glass doors), that wouldn’t dilute even a whisper, so everything could be heard and seen. Aside from the bathroom door on the first floor and another bathroom door on the second floor, there was literally no privacy. I had to run to the basement to make phone calls for doctor appointments, or other personal matters in the winter. The basement was gross, and had terrible reception. In the summer I would just go outside so it was never ideal.
“I eventually discovered that not only was I being watched all the time, (at first I thought it was just my imagination) but then my boss started following me around. If I went upstairs to make a phone call to have privacy, he would go upstairs to get water, or tea, or something. Even when I would use the side rooms, he followed me ‘to grab something’ in one of these rooms, and made sure to check my screen to see what I was doing. It wasn’t long before I realized this guy was a little obsessed with me. And he appeared to be a bit obsessed with the other ladies in the office, too, so I didn’t think twice about it, but it turned out to be a long-term disaster when I didn’t respond to his advances and dreamy-eyed gazes. I had to leave in a huff, and I do not regret it. But it did take me over two years to overcome the notion that someone was watching me, checking in on me all the time, constantly judging me, and how that eventually turned into sexual harassment. It was a devastating time in my life, and it couldn’t have happened without an open office plan.”