Increased risk of bullying in open-plan offices
Workplace Bullying in the Open: the Risks Associated with Working in an Open Office
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Michael Rosander, professor at the Division of Psychology at Linköping University, Sweden.
view moreCredit: Anna Nilsen
Open-plan offices entail a clearly increased risk of workplace bullying compared with employees having their own office or sharing with just a few colleagues. This is shown in research from Linköping University, Sweden.
“Increased bullying is a tangible negative consequence of how you choose to organise the workplace. It’s important to highlight this, as it hasn’t previously been examined,” says Michael Rosander, professor at the Division of Psychology at Linköping University.
Open-plan offices, where many employees share the same space, have become increasingly common. Employers often justify this development as a way to use premises more efficiently and to encourage creative interactions between employees. However, research has shown that open-plan offices do not promote health, job satisfaction or productivity.
Until now, it has been unclear whether open-plan offices also affect the risk of bullying and employees’ motivation to look for another job. Through surveys of more than 3,300 randomly selected individuals in employment in Sweden, Michael Rosander has now provided an answer. The results are published in the journal Occupational Health Science.
Thirty per cent of those with some form of office-based work reported that they worked in a traditional open-plan office with no access to private space. Thirteen per cent worked in so-called activity-based offices, where employees spend part of their time in an open-plan environment but also have access to designated rooms for tasks requiring peace and quiet. The remainder had their own office or shared one with only a few colleagues.
For traditional open-plan offices, the survey responses showed a clearly increased risk of bullying compared with those who had their own office or shared an office with only a few colleagues. The difference remained regardless of factors such as personality traits and the extent of remote working. This suggests that the problems are indeed caused by the work environment in the office.
The researchers’ explanation is that in traditional open-plan offices it is easier to notice colleagues’ shortcomings and become irritated by them. If someone gets frustrated and takes it upon themselves to “do something about” a colleague’s behaviour, and there are no clear guidelines for handling such situations, there is a risk that it may escalate into bullying. Those who are subjected to bullying lack access to a private space for retreat.
Activity-based open-plan offices, by contrast, showed no increased risk of bullying, likely due to the availability of private spaces. However, in both types of open-plan office, employees were more likely to consider changing jobs. One possible explanation is that activity-based offices also involve more distractions, according to Michael Rosander.
For employers who have introduced, or are planning to introduce, open-plan offices, there are some lessons to be learned. One is to be prepared to deal with irritation and conflicts before they escalate. Another is the importance of providing rooms where employees can work undisturbed. Placing individuals with similar needs and tasks near one another may also reduce the risk of disruption.
“Traditional open-plan offices are in themselves negative for the individual, for productivity, and make people more likely to leave their job. Social interaction also suffers. So it's worth considering how to handle it,” says Michael Rosander.
The research was conducted in collaboration with Morten Birkeland Nielsen at the University of Bergen and was funded by Forte (the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare).
Michael Rosander, professor at the Division of Psychology at Linköping University, Sweden.
Credit
Anna Nilsen
Journal
Occupational Health Science
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Workplace Bullying in the Open: the Risks Associated with Working in an Open Office
Frequent scrolling affects perceptions of the work environment
University of Gothenburg
Individuals who perceive that colleagues prefer to scroll on their mobile phones during breaks rather than socialise rate their psychosocial work environment as poorer than others do. This is shown in a doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg.
Research has shown that mobile phone scrolling can impair relationships. For example, many people feel that the quality of conversations deteriorates when phones are used at the same time. However, few studies have examined how relationships between co-workers are affected. In his doctoral thesis, psychologist Per Martinsson has therefore investigated what happens when mobile phones displace social interaction during breaks. The studies were based on the concept of phubbing, derived from “phone snubbing”, which refers to prioritising one’s phone over people who are physically present.
Mobile phones often perceived as a barrier
The results of 25 interviews with electricians and healthcare professionals show that mobile phones are often perceived as a social barrier that leads to less socialising and conversation during breaks. Phones are also used as a way of withdrawing from social interaction, which may stem from a need for recovery.
The results of two survey studies involving a total of approximately 1,700 working adults show that those who perceive more phubbing from their co-workers also report a poorer psychosocial work environment in terms of emotional and practical support, trust, sense of community, and engagement in their work and organisation.
“It is interesting that one’s own mobile phone use does not appear to be associated with these factors, but what others do may play a role,” says Per Martinsson.
The findings from the two quantitative sub-studies, one among electricians and one based on a broad sample of working adults in Sweden, both indicate a negative association. However, no evidence was found that mobile phone use drove a deterioration in the work environment over a one-year period, and further research is needed to clarify the causal relationships.
Norms differ between groups
Mobile phone scrolling at work also appears, to some extent, to be a generational issue. Younger employees use their phones more during breaks and are also more likely to consider it acceptable for others to use their phones. Several interview participants emphasised that mobile phone use during breaks is not solely negative; phones are sometimes incorporated into social interaction, for example when searching for information or looking at pictures and videos together.
“Since norms and expectations differ between groups, an important skill is being able to read the situation, understanding how and when it is socially acceptable to use one’s phone, and in which situations it may be perceived as excluding others,” says Per Martinsson.
Reflection and dialogue can make a difference in the workplace
“These findings shouldn’t be taken to mean that more rules are needed or that staff must put their phones away during breaks. Rather, I hope my findings will encourage reflection and discussion about this issue in the workplace. We can talk about how we want things to be and how we can create a good work environment together,” says Per Martinsson.
FACTS
- The thesis will be defended on 13 March 2026.
- Title of the thesis: Coworker phubbing: Smartphone use during work breaks and the psychosocial work environment
- Link to the thesis: https://hdl.handle.net/2077/90500
- About the studies: The thesis comprises one interview study and two survey studies. Twenty-five individual interviews were conducted with electricians and healthcare professionals. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes in the interviews. One survey study targeted electricians and was completed by approximately 800 respondents. The second survey was distributed to a representative sample of the working population in Sweden via the SOM Institute and was completed by just under 900 respond
Online meetings come with pros and cons – managers should understand all of them
University of Eastern Finland
Video meetings have become a staple in the workplace. A recent study among senior IT industry managers shows that video meetings have a dual impact on remote leadership. Although Teams, Zoom and other tools for video meetings have become embedded in day-to-day organisational practices, their role in leadership has not been thoroughly examined from the perspective of technological opportunities and constraints – until now.
Conducted at the University of Eastern Finland, the study found that video plays a dual role in leadership. On the one hand, video meetings serve as an informative tool when management wishes to share information, for example, in staff briefings or in pre-recorded video messages. On the other hand, video meetings serve as an interactive tool when managers wish to engage in discussions with teams and individual employees.
Video is considered a flexible and efficient means of sharing information. However, interactive use of video technology also has its challenges: the study identified five key tensions that influence the daily work of managers.
The first tension relates to flexibility and inflexibility. While video meetings streamline time management, yet they also create additional strain and result in fully-booked calendars. Flexibility makes it easier to work from different locations and time zones, but an overcrowded schedule causes stress.
The second tension pertains to social connection and social distance. Video makes it possible to maintain a sense of community, but it also limits spontaneous interaction and the expression of emotions. People don’t necessarily experience genuine social connection – even when cameras are turned on.
The third tension identified in the study involves participation and passivity. While technology provides tools for fostering active engagement, managers also face challenges in encouraging participation when people prefer not to turn on their cameras, multitask during video meetings or remain silent behind their screens.
The fourth tension relates to the sharing of formal information and the lack of informal knowledge. Formal information moves efficiently via video connections, but tacit knowledge and subtle cues are easily lost.
The fifth tension highlights equality and inequality. Video meetings increase equality between locations, but at the same time accentuate differences in how employees participate and work.
The study introduces a new theoretical framework that describes the dual role of video technology in remote leadership. The findings emphasise that successful remote leadership is not only about a leader's communication skills but also about the ability to find a balance between what technology enables and what it limits.
”Our study offers concrete recommendations for managers who wish to support their employees' well-being, interaction and ability to work in digital environments,” says Professor Jonna Koponen of the University of Eastern Finland.
Journal
Information Technology and People
Article Title
Dual edge: exploring technological affordances and constraints of video technology in e-leadership
Article Publication Date
3-Mar-2026
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