"A 2009 review article published in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Management found that 90% of studies looking at open-plan offices linked them to health problems such as stress and high blood pressure.
Although there is some evidence to show that younger employees value rubbing shoulders with more experienced colleagues, it seems that for many the cons outweigh the pros. A 2009 study in Sweden found that occupants of private offices were most happy with their environment, while most dissatisfaction was registered in medium and large open-plan offices.
In the 1970s, the "co-determination" movement swept across Europe. Legislation in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy gave workers a say in how companies were run and offices were designed.
That led ultimately to the rejection of office landscaping in Germany and in Scandinavia," says Frank Duffy. Northern European office buildings today are "highly cellular", he says, with everyone having "the right to a window they can open, a door they can shut and a wall they can beat upon.
In his 2000 book The European Office, Juriaan van Meel noted that in Sweden "almost everybody has a private office", while in Germany "open-office layouts are scarce" - although small teams sometimes shared a room.German office workers have an average 28.2 sq m of personal space. Their right to elbow room and daylight is enshrined in law.
In the UK and North America, by contrast, design is mostly driven by cost rather than worker satisfaction, and open-plan layouts remain the norm."
From The pleasures and perils of the open-plan office
By William Kremer | BBC World Service
In Australia, like UK, office landscape - open plan office layouts is driven by cost only.
The co-determination movement is still to sweep Australia ...if ever....
