Forget Collaboration! Give Us Back Our Cubicles
Last week, I blogged about the growing trend of cubicle-free workplaces. The folks at Harvard Business Review had noted that cubicles don't really work, saying they discourage collaboration, lower engagement, and make it tougher to innovate.
Being that we're talking Harvard here, you'd think they know what they're talking about. But your take? Not a chance.
Pretty much all of you who responded blew a big fat raspberry at the idea of open workspaces. Bouchart wrote:
"Why would I want to collaborate more? Most of the data I work with is bad or incomplete, so everyone would just be sharing their flawed conclusions and ignorance."Added gkumaran,
"With a small drawing board and non-closed environment, I cannot think more. I get distracted easily. Which severely degrades your work, if your work involves creativity."And my colleague Geoffrey James opined,
"Actually, creative people need private offices so that they can think privately. Maybe it's the open bullpen -- and the lack of focus that it creates -- that's killed the newspaper business."Good points, all. Maybe ditching the cubicles isn't the way to more productivity. I'd like to hear what the rest of you think, so...it's poll time!
(image by GraceFamily via Flickr, CC 2.0)