It’s not your imagination. Involvement by managers and employees in collaborative endeavors has increased by 50 percent in the past two decades, according to research published in the Harvard Business Review. The study found that in many companies, the time spent in meetings, on the phone and answering emails takes up to 80 percent of employees’ time. Collaboration is seen as a vital precursor to the production of creative ideas, problem solving and improved social capital.
In designing new workplaces, collaboration is often the Holy Grail against which all other office requirements are measured. Some workplaces are now so open and transparent, that it is possible for a group of employees to talk face-to-face about a work problem while seated simultaneously in the office cafe, at the work station area and on a rowing machine. At Apple’s new campus in California, the design is intended to get employees to collaborate in key interaction areas, such as the restaurant. However, if an employee’s desk is at the wrong end of the building, walking to the restaurant will mean undertaking an 800 meter trip.
The focus on open workplaces is driven in part by a desire to reduce real estate costs for organizations, but also by a belief that increased interaction leads to increased collaboration. However, a study of 42,000 employees showed there was little solid evidence that open layouts improved interaction. Other research has shown that increased awareness through being able to see others doesn’t translate clearly to collaboration. The study also suggests that most office design is an experiment, and that the outcomes beyond self-report surveys are rarely tested.
Both the processes and places where work is occurring are allowing increasingly little room for employees to undertake the solitary work required to achieve results. Between 2008 and 2013, a survey showed that amongst knowledge workers, time spent on collaborating had decreased by 20 percent while time spent on focused work requiring deep thought had increased by 13 percent. When employees can’t focus and think clearly they actually collaborate less and become more withdrawn.
