Jason is the CEO of an advertising agency with 125 employees. The agency helps its client develop advertising and marketing themes and place ads in all media including print, the Internet, and mobile apps. Jason is pleased with productivity at the agency, yet he believes with stronger teamwork in all departments productivity would be enhanced. Jason has read and heard a lot in recent years about the teamwork benefits of an open-plan office or an open-office space. An online comment made by Mark D. Okerstrom, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Expedia, particularly impressed him: “Modern tech workers want an office that puts collaboration opportunities front and center.”*

Jason thought that his advertising firm required perhaps even more collaboration than an online travel agency, such as Expedia. He then carefully evaluated the openness of the agency’s office space, working with Baxter, her director of administration. Jason noted that about two-thirds of the agency employees were assigned to cubicles, and a few to private offices. He decided to make a major structural change to the office layout, enlisting the help of Baxter, and an outside office design specialist, Kaitlin. The new open-plan office was installed over a four-day period, including a Saturday and Sunday. Jason himself moved from his private office to a desk in the center of the open-work area.

Before making the changes, Jason sent an e-mail to the entire staff with the explanation that the purpose of the new office layout was to enhance teamwork, collaboration and creativity. He welcomed feedback on the new plan, and also stated that the new office layout would be tried for one year before becoming permanent. Jason received back a handful of comments. A few of the comments welcomed the opportunity to become a more modern office, whereas a few others expressed concern about a potential negative impact on creativity and morale.

As the weeks passed under the new plan, a few workers casually mentioned that they enjoyed the opportunity to have more frequent face-to-face interaction with colleagues. In contrast, many more negative comments about the new open-plan office space surfaced.

Sarah, the supervisor of media placements told Jason, “The open-office plan is driving out some of older workers. Three people over fifty have quit in the last month. They say that listening to constant chatter and smartphones beeping may be okay for millennials, but they find it to be overwhelming. I guess that some of our older workers prefer tranquility to noise when it comes to doing serious work.”

Tony, the highest paid advertising copywriter told Jason directly, “You have got to stop this insanity of open-office space. It might work for office routine, but it’s a disaster for creative output. How can you expect me to be creative in the midst of people talking, phones ringing, and people stopping by my table to discuss sports and TV shows? When I’m trying to develop an advertising or marketing theme for a client, I try to use one of our two conference rooms. The rooms are usually filled with somebody else trying to escape the open space, so I might have to go to my car or work from home. We don’t have a telecommuting program so coming to the office late is a little awkward.”

Konrad, a specialist in purchasing advertising space for clients, wrote an e-mail to Jason, that included these comments: “Working in an open-plan office space has actually alienated me a little from my colleagues. It’s like we all working together in a subway. Even smelling the cologne and perfume of my coworkers is a little annoying. Talking on the phone to a media person can be difficult also because of all the buzzing around me. When is this experiment going to end?”

*Quoted in “View from the Top,” The Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2016, p. B1.

1)How might CEO Jason make better use of office space to promote teamwork?
2)To what extent are the workers opposed to the open-plan office simply being inflexible?3)Identify several rules Jason might introduce that would make the open-plan office more conducive to effective teamwork.

No less than 100 words