Creatives in the Office: Personality and the Environmental Effects of Workspace

Abstract

Open-office plans have become the dominant mode for creative workplaces, designed to encourage collaboration. Little scholarly research assesses the validity of that trend, the conventional wisdom behind it, or the impact of open environments on creativity, employee productivity, satisfaction, or success. This exploratory study surveys 143 people working in advertising and the creative industries, assessing perceptions of productivity and satisfaction with work environment along with personality type. A majority of respondents yearned for solitude to complete certain tasks. Findings suggest that open-office environments may indeed undermine creative productivity, not just among introverts, but others as well.