I have an office with a door and find it difficult to concentrate when
there are noises and commotion in the hallway - particularly when I am
writing or working on something that requires thought and reflection. We
also deal with confidential information and an open environment would not
be conducive to keeping that information private.  The pros of a
collaborative environment might be just that - collaboration -- so long as
everyone is focused on the same project or outcome. For me, the cons far
outweigh the any pros because in the work I do,  I need time to read,
reflect, and write and am too old to it with distractions. I also meet with
faculty quite a bit and having other people in the office during a meeting
would certainly change the dynamic of those meetings. Around ten years, it
was suggested that our student support offices be structured as an open
environment. The idea was for one-stop student support services and a work
atmosphere where the support staff could easily interact with one another.
The idea was trashed once the administration learned more about how student
support services actually operated and the kinds of issues they dealt with.
Concerns about student confidentiality and privacy prevailed and the staff
still collaborates with doors on their respective offices.

Donna Berger, Ph.D.
Director, Academic Grants
Marist College
Phone: 845-575-3670

From:	"Betcher, Gina I" <xxxxxx@ECU.EDU>
To:	xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org,
Date:	01/17/2014 01:48 PM
Subject:	Re: [RESADM-L] Central Office Floor Plan & Work Environment
Sent by:	Research Administration List
 <xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org>

I finally graduated to having my own office with its own door. It is an
office that used to be a closet, but coming from a semi closed cubicle
environment where noise traveled above and into the cubicles, I am sorry to
hear that a trend in design overtakes workable environments.

-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [
mailto:xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org] On Behalf Of Natasha Stark
Sent: Friday, January 17, 2014 12:02 PM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: [RESADM-L] Central Office Floor Plan & Work Environment

Georgia State University is in the process of moving its central OSPA
office into new office space with a new floor plan and office
configuration.  Currently each of us has a private office with a door.  The
new space that is being proposed would simulate the now infamous Google
open environment where there will be 4 people to a cube/space and the
entire area would be open with little to no privacy.

Does anyone currently work in this type of environment?  If so what are
your experiences?  For those who do not work in this type of environment
what would you perceive as being the pros and cons to being in this type of
work arrangement?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions!

======================================================================
 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available  via
our web site at http://www.healthresearch.org (click on the  "LISTSERV"
link in the upper right corner)

 A link directly to helpful tips:  http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help
======================================================================

======================================================================
 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
 subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
 via our web site at http://www.healthresearch.org (click on the
 "LISTSERV" link in the upper right corner)

 A link directly to helpful tips:  http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help
======================================================================

======================================================================
 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
 subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
 via our web site at http://www.healthresearch.org (click on the
 "LISTSERV" link in the upper right corner)

 A link directly to helpful tips:  http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help
======================================================================