Dodging distractions
The shift towards hybrid working has seen a rise in activity-based flexible offices (AFOs), where employees can choose their desk according to the task they’re carrying out. Like hot-desking, individuals don’t have an assigned seat, but the difference with AFOs is that the various set-ups are designed to support different activities.
But the task might not be the only factor that influences people’s choice of workspace and a new study has examined how visual distractions have an impact on where people prefer to work. The research, published in the journal Ergonomics, examined the different reasons people gave for choosing a desk. These included being close to their team, the comfort of the equipment, proximity to communal areas and the noise levels. Reasons for avoiding a particular spot included not liking desks near aisles, entrances or in the middle of a row of three.
The findings showed that employees consistently preferred places with fewer visual distractions. These results could be used to design more comfortable and effective workspaces that suit a greater number of employees.
The study said: “Employees’ desk preferences in AFOs are not only a matter of noise distraction, but also strongly associated with employees’ need to minimise visual distractions, an aspect that has rarely been recognised in prior research.”
