The arguments for and against open-plan offices continue, with no clear winner emerging. Some people find it impossible to concentrate in them, complaining of lack of privacy and distractions that lead them to make mistakes, while proponents say they bring the workforce together and improve communication, encourage exercise and relieve the stress often associated with sitting in an individual office, and of course, are less costly. Many years of debate among fervent supporters from both sides, and still no clear answer.

Why not? Simple: because to make open-plan offices a success, we need to change how we work, but this clashes with all kinds of outdated cultural barriers and practices, such as expecting people to sign in and out of work.

The nature of work has evolved enormously since the industrial revolution and it is increasingly necessary to take this evolution into account to avoid falling into ridiculous and unsustainable extremes. The idea of work as a place we attend to carry out a series of tasks is anachronistic. In short, the office of the future is no office at all: technology gives us greater independence, while science shows that working from home or wherever is not only positive, but also eliminates or redefines meaningless and often counterproductive workplace politics. Teams should work remotely, an approach that offers many advantages in terms of improved productivity, less frustration and reduced pressure on the environment and health.

Creating an open-plan office has nothing to do with moving furniture around, removing walls and putting people to work in a panopticon, and companies that limit themselves to this will fail. An open-plan office should provide comfortable work areas for those who want to use them on a regular basis, but with no assigned desks and backed up by infrastructure for those tasks that it makes sense to carry out in the office: some meetings, events, production tasks that need specific equipment, etc.

Do people complain that they can’t concentrate in an open-plan office? Obviously, because there are tasks that require greater levels of concentration; in which case, think about working from home, a workspace, a pavement café, or wherever you want. Find a place where you like to work, where you can focus and use it whenever you want to concentrate. Only go to the office when you really need to see somebody or to talk in person or when you need certain facilities or equipment. Do not go to the office to be seen to be working or to be the first in and the last out, which are sad vestiges of last century’s post-industrial economy. In the current technological context, that’s all a waste of time. If you think your workforce needs to be kept under surveillance, then think about hiring people you can trust, change your management methods, or better still, try another line of work.