London - Working in an open-plan office is bad for the brain, a study shows.
Researchers found that the constant noise and lack of privacy disrupted brain activity and impaired concentration.
A sterile office, where workers are banned from personalising their desks, also reduced productivity by 15 percent because staff felt less comfortable in their surroundings.
Open plan offices were introduced in the 1950s to improve communication between colleagues.
But scientists now claim they may be doing more harm than good.
The findings were revealed in television show The Secret Life of Buildings.
In the programme, presenter Tom Dyckhoff wore a cap which measured brainwaves while he attempted to work in a busy office.
The results revealed intense bursts of interruption.
Dr Jack Lewis, a neuroscientist who carried out the test, said: “Open plan offices were designed with the idea that people can move around and interact freely to promote creative thinking and better problem solving.
“But it doesn't work like that.
“If you are just getting into some work and a phone goes off in the background it ruins what you are concentrating on.
“Even though you are not aware at the time, the brain responds to distractions.”
The show also found that workers who were not allowed to add personal touches to desks and walls were less productive.
Dr Craig Knight, a psychologist at Exeter University, said: “Companies like the idea of giving their employees a lean space to work in as it is uniform and without unnecessary distractions.
“In the experiments we have run, however, employees respond better in spaces that have been enriched with pictures and plants.
“If they have been allowed to enrich the space themselves with their own things it can increase their wellbeing by 32 percent and their productivity by 15 percent.
“It is because they are able to engage with their surroundings, feel more comfortable and so concentrate.”
A US study has suggested that bare, sterile surroundings could result in smaller brains.
The Salk Institute in San Diego, California, found that the brains of mice grew by 15 percent when they were kept in stimulating environments, compared to sterile, bare cages.
Professor Fred Gage said: “If we can extrapolate that to humans then it shows that having a stimulating environment can optimise our performance and abilities.”
Last year, University College London surveyed 20 000 UK professionals about their happiness with their office environment.
They found that 56 percent complained of lack of privacy, 55 percent about poor temperature and 60 percent about lack of quiet space.
One in three was concerned about lack of daylight and noise levels.
Many said they were “crammed” into their offices and felt like “battery hens” which, researchers said, could make them paranoid.
Open plan offices have also been blamed for workers' ill health.
A study by Australian academics in 2009 found that open plan offices were making workers “shockingly sick”.
The Queensland University of Technology found that the hustle and bustle could raise employees’ blood pressure and lead to stress, exhaustion and flu. - Daily Mail