How to decide if open plan is right for your business in 2025.
Open plan offices have dominated workplace design for years, but the conversation is changing. Once seen as the ultimate way to encourage collaboration and flatten hierarchies, open plan layouts are now under scrutiny for their real impact on productivity, culture, and employee wellbeing.
Are they still the right choice for your business? Or is it time to rethink how your office is set up?
What we mean by “open plan”
Open plan offices remove or drastically reduce private offices, instead placing most staff in a shared space with minimal partitions. The concept began in the 1950s but surged in popularity over the past three decades, becoming the default fit-out choice for many companies.
Originally, the push toward open plan was driven by two key factors: lowering real estate and fit-out costs, and increasing collaboration. By reducing space requirements, companies could downsize their floorplate – and their rent – while creating flexible layouts with shared amenities and varied work zones.
Why businesses love open plan
The biggest selling point is collaboration. Without walls or closed doors, employees are easier to approach, conversations flow more freely, and ideas spread faster. It also levels the playing field. Traditional corner offices are replaced with equal‑sized desks, helping to dismantle status symbols and encourage openness.
Technology supports this approach. With most workflows now digital, staff can access what they need from anywhere in the office, not just their desk.
The growing backlash
Recent research, however, is challenging the benefits. Studies show open plan can cost employees around 86 minutes of productive work each day due to noise and interruptions. Lack of privacy is now cited as an even bigger source of dissatisfaction than noise itself.
There are health implications too. Some studies have found employees take up to 62% more sick days after moving to open plan layouts, largely due to easier spread of germs and higher stress levels.
Many workers try to cope by wearing noise‑cancelling headphones or hiding in meeting rooms – behaviours that undermine the whole point of an open office. And while conversations may increase, they’re not always work‑related, which can further reduce focus.
The cultural trade‑off
The real risk is cultural. Employees who feel constantly distracted or uncomfortable are more likely to disengage. When collaboration feels forced and concentration is constantly under threat, productivity drops, and the culture open plan was meant to enhance can start to erode.
Making the right call for your business
Before committing to an open plan fit-out, consider how it will affect your costs, culture, and performance. Lower rents and more flexible use of space are attractive, but not if they undermine productivity and morale.
The best workplaces strike a balance: open areas for collaboration and creative work, paired with quiet rooms, private offices, and focused work zones. A hybrid approach allows people to choose the environment that best suits their task.
In 2025, the smartest workplace strategies are not about following a trend. They’re about creating a space where your people can do their best work consistently.
