Open plan offices with no partitions could be healthier for workers.

Researchers have reviewed several types of workstation arrangement for office workers. They found a link between an open plan design, with no partitions between desks (‘open bench’ configuration), and higher levels of physical activity while at work.

The study recruited 231 US government workers from four different sites, working in three different types of office environment: open bench configuration with no or very low partitions between desks, cubicles with high walled partitions that cannot be seen over while seated, and private walled offices.

Participants wore heart sensors and physical activity monitors, which captured the intensity of movement of any type of activity, for three consecutive work days and two nights. They also answered questions every hour on their smartphones during working hours to gauge their current mood. After they had completed their stint, they filled in a survey to assess their overall stress levels.

Analysis of all the data showed that workers in open plan offices with open bench configurations clocked up more physical activity than either workers in cubicles (20 per cent more) or in private offices (32 per cent more).

Stress levels were significantly higher among older, heavier office workers, while activity levels were lower among women than among men.

Higher levels of office stress were significantly associated with higher levels of stress outside the office.

But those who were more physically active experienced lower (14 per cent) levels of stress outside the office than those who were less active.

The full study is accessible here.