A Conceptual Hierarchy for Ecologically Valid Open-Plan Office Research

The use of open plan offices (OPOs) continues to increase globally. This increasing usage is often justified by the need to support more collaborative office work. Such practices as office hoteling, and touchdown stations using OPO designs are perceived to provide cost savings based on the more efficient use of space. However, the advantages of OPOs continue to be challenged in the literature, and many studies have identified negative consequences for work performance and worker satisfaction. As a complex sociotechnical system, OPOs have been difficult to study in any way that yields ecologically valid results. Research on OPOs has been conducted and can be separated into two primary categories: 1.) Controlled studies in laboratories; and 2.) Surveybased studies eliciting workers’ perceptions. There is a need for an organizing body of concepts and parameters to conduct OPO research that is ecologically valid and less constrained by the need for internal validity at the cost of realism. In this project, the research team developed a conceptual hierarchy (CH) to design an ecologically valid replication of an OPO. The CH provides a structural framework to conduct a single study or series of studies to explore work behavior in OPOs.