Why visually subdividing open-plan space makes sense for employees

Since the world of work has almost universally condemned private offices, it has become unfashionable to disparage wide-open workspaces for any reason besides acoustics. Multiple neuroscience studies, however, indicate the value of visual separation in the workplace.

New research from Turkey by Guler and Demirkan (2026), for example, used space syntax techniques to study visibility in open-plan offices and discovered that ‘a higher number of visible employees within the 120-degree and 360-degree fields of vision corresponded to a lower number of work-process interactions in open-plan offices.’

Employees with low visual privacy and high visibility tended to engage in fewer interactions. The research concluded that ‘Increased visibility is not directly associated with increased interaction in open-plan offices unless adequate visual privacy is provided.’

Wisdom contradicted

Nobody should be surprised by Guler and Demirkan’s findings. Prior research has indicated similar outcomes. Kim and de Dear’s 2013 paper, for example, presented results that ‘categorically contradict the industry-wide accepted wisdom that open-plan layout enhances communication between colleagues . . .occupants’ satisfaction on the interaction issue was actually higher for occupants of private offices.’

Research by Kerstin Sailer and team (2021) further supports design that visually separates workers from each other, via screens, seat orientations, and/or other means.  The data they collected in the open-plan offices of a global technology company revealed ‘that staff are less likely to rate their workplace environment favourably when they have higher numbers of desks within their own field of vision; and when they are facing away from the room with a relatively larger area behind their back compared to the area surrounding them.’

Aspects of teamwork that are negatively affected include sharing information with others, as well as team identity and cohesion, according to Sailer’s research. Focused work and perceived productivity are impacted even more so. Having fewer people in sight and feeling more in control of the environment by facing the room resulted in significantly higher odds for positive ratings of focused work and perceived productivity. The study concluded that ‘designing smaller and more intimate areas might be advisable as an immediate workplace design choice.’

Smaller subdivisions

Brunia, de Been, and van der Voordt (2016) studied workplace satisfaction and found that ‘large open workspaces, accommodating more than approximately 15 people, should be avoided due to concentration and privacy issues . . . Large open spaces can be visually and acoustically subdivided into smaller areas.’

The issues around wide-open space do not stop there. Bernstein (2014) discussed how views into group areas by passers-by alter what teams do: ‘For all that transparency does to drive out wasteful practices and promote collaboration and shared learning, too much of it can trigger distortions of fact and counterproductive inhibitions. Unrehearsed, experimental behaviours sometimes cease altogether. Wide-open workspaces can leave employees feeling exposed and vulnerable. Being observed changes their conduct. They start going to great lengths to keep what they’re doing under wraps, even if they have nothing bad to hide.’

Bernstein’s research shares that visual barriers between work groups support ‘local problem solving, experimentation, and focus.’ The moral of this research story? Put in screens. Build at least some walls.

Read more of the latest research insights from Sally Augustin in Research Roundup, her regular column in the Innovation Zone for WORKTECH Academy members and partners here.

Research sources

Ethan Bernstein. 2014. ‘The Transparency Trap.’ Harvard Business Review, vol. 92, no. 10, pp. 59-66.

Sandra Brunia, Iris de Been, and Theo van der Voordt. 2016. ‘Accommodating New Ways of Working: Lessons from Best Practices and Worst Cases.’ Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 30-47.

Gizem Guler and Halime Demirkan. 2026. ‘Evaluating the Relationship Between Visual Privacy and Work-Process Interactions in Open-Plan Offices: A Space Syntax Approach.’ International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 75-99.

Jungsoo Kim and Richard de Dear. 2013. ‘Workspace Satisfaction: The Privacy-Communication Trade-Off in Open-Plan Offices.’ Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 36, pp.18-26.

Kerstin Sailer, Petros Koutsolampros, and Rosica Pachilova. 2021. ‘Differential Perceptions of Teamwork, Focused Work and Perceived Productivity as an Effect of Desk Characteristics Within a Workplace Layout.’ PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 4, e0250058.