People who spread personal affects, such as posters and photos, in their open-plan office areas are happier than those who try to place barriers between themselves and their colleagues, new pilot study coming from the University of Queensland has found.

The study forms part of a broader research project which aims to find out more about how the physical work environment and its configurations impact on employee productivity.

UQ’s Senior Lecturer in Management, Dr Remi Ayoko, says that there is a direct correlation between individual expression and the happiness and productivity of an employee.

A sample group study found that workers in open-plan offices tend to claim ownership of their work area through items such as novelty mugs, photos and posters. 

“Employees who express themselves in this way also seem to experience positive emotions,” Dr Ayoko said. 

In contrast, those who were more defensive about their space, “especially in anticipation and fear of intrusion”, were more likely to experience negative emotions. 

The study found that 15 percent of open-plan office workers had had a disagreement with a colleague, 12 percent had felt frustrated, eight percent were not satisfied with their job and 11 percent said they were not performing their work effectively. 

Dr Ayoko said the results were not conclusive and further research was needed, but it suggested open-plan offices made for easier communication and were cheaper to design, but could result in frustration and conflict due to noise, distractions and lack of privacy. 

“Organisations spend millions of dollars renovating and building new workspaces every year,” Dr Ayoko said. 

“Yet very little research has been carried out in the field of organisational behaviour into the way in which the physical work environment, such as office design, affects employees' productivity and wellbeing. 

“Our research aims to tease out these issues and especially to look at how territoriality, conflict and emotions influence productivity in different office settings,” she said.