Question

An open office is supposed to force employees to cooperate. To have them talk more face to face. To get them off instant messenger (IM) and brainstorming new ideas. But a recent study by two researchers offers evidence to support what many people who work in open offices already know: It doesn’t really work that way. The noise causes people to put on headphones and tune out. The lack of privacy causes others to work from home when they can. And the sense of being in a fishbowl means many choose email over a desk-side chat.

Ethan Bernstein and Stephen Turban, two Harvard Business School professors, studied two Fortune 500 companies that made the shift to an open office environment from one where workers had more privacy. Using “sociometric” electronic badges (徽章) and microphones, as well as data on email and instant messenger use by employees, the researchers found in the first study that after the organization made the move to open-plan offices, workers spent 73% less time in face-to-face interaction. Meanwhile, email use rose 67% and IM use went up 75%.

The participants wore the badges and microphones for several weeks before the office was redesigned and for several after, and the company gave the researchers access to their electronic communications. The results were astonishing. “We were surprised by the degree to which we found the effect,” Bernstein said. The badges could tell that two people had a face-to-face interaction without recording actual spoken words. The researchers were careful to make sure other factors weren’t in question—the business cycle was similar, for instance, and the group of employees were the same.

In a second study, the researchers looked at the changes in interaction between specific pairs of colleagues, finding a similar drop in face-to-face communication and a smaller but still significant increase in electronic correspondence.

Another wrinkle in their research, Bernstein said, is that not only did workers shift the way of communication they used, but they also tended to interact with different groups of people online than they did in person. Moving from one kind of communication to another may not be all bad—“maybe email is just more efficient,” he said—but if managers want certain teams of people to be interacting, that may be lost more than they think. The shift in office space could “have strong effects on productivity and the quality of work”.

Bernstein hopes the research will offer evidence that will help managers consider the possible trade-offs of moving to an open office plan. In seeking a lower cost per square foot, they buy into the idea that it will also lead to more cooperation, even if it’s not clear that’s true. “I don’t blame the architects,” he said. “But I do think we spend more of our time thinking about how to design workplaces based on the observer’s angle”—the manager—“rather than the observed.”

1.Employers prefer an open office because they think it can ______.

A. increase competition

B. improve communication

C. create a safe environment

D. motivate workers’ responsibility

2.Why was there an increase in electronic correspondence among employees?

A. Because they thought little of desk-side chat.

B. Because they shifted to a new business cycle.

C. Because they wanted to protect their privacy.

D. Because they needed to complete more tasks.

3.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. The researchers.

B. The managers.

C. Certain teams of people.

D. Different groups of workers.

4.As for the design of workplaces, what is Bernstein’s major concern?

A. Connectivity.

B. Accessibility.

C. User-friendliness.

D. Cost-effectiveness.

Answer

1. B

2. C

3. B

4. C

【解析】

本文为议论文。文章介绍了关于开放式办公室的利与弊的研究。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的An open office is supposed to force employees to cooperate. To have them talk more face to face. To get them off instant messenger (IM) and brainstorming new ideas可知，雇主们更喜欢开放的办公室，因为他们认为它可以改善沟通。故B选项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第一段中的The lack of privacy causes others to work from home when they can. And the sense of being in a fishbowl means many choose email over a desk-side chat.可知，雇员之间的电子通信越来越多是因为他们想保护自己的隐私。故C选项正确。

3.词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句if managers want certain teams of people to be interacting, that may be lost more than they think.（如果管理人员希望某些团队的人员进行交流，那么损失可能比他们想象的要多。）可知，划线词they应指代的条件句中的managers。故B选项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中的Bernstein hopes the research will offer evidence that will help managers consider the possible trade-offs of moving to an open office plan…But I do think we spend more of our time thinking about how to design workplaces based on the observer’s angle—the manager—rather than the observed.（伯恩斯坦希望，这项研究将提供证据，帮助管理人员考虑转向开放式办公室计划的利弊……但我确实认为，我们花更多的时间考虑如何从旁观者（管理者）的角度来设计工作场所而不是被观察者。）可推知，至于工作场所的设计，伯恩斯坦的主要关注点是用户友好性。故C选项正确。