5 Ways Your Offices Open Floor Plan Is Surprisingly Sexist

5 Ways Your Offices Open Floor Plan Is Surprisingly Sexist While open-floor office plans can bring coworkers closer and invite communication among all levels of employees, many workers take issue withthem for a multitude of reasons they can be distracting, invasive and put everyone in the same playing field despitehierarchical status.For example,asThe Wall Street Journal has pointedout, some Apple employeeshave said, Coders and programmers are concerned that their work surroundings will be too noisy and distracting.Apple employees arent alone. In fact, two thirds of respondents in a University of Sydneystudy on workplace satisfactionreportedan open office environment and, in general, showed considerably higherdissatisfaction ratesthan those in enclosed office layouts. Between 20 and 40 percent of open-plan officeworkers expressed high levels of dissatisfaction for reasons of visual privacy.Whilemany workers tend to feel negatively about open office plans, however, a wealth of recent research suggests that these spaces can be largely sexist, impacting women in the workplace mora so than men. Open-floor office plans can affect the way women dress, act and communicate, and they can be breeding grounds for sexual harassment. Here are five ways they can hurt women in the workplace.1. They changeexpectations forwomens dress.Gender, Work and Organisation, found that workers subconsciously altered their behavior to fit in, and theyd dress differently to suit an environment of constant visibility. Likewise, some women dress differently because theyre conscious of the male gaze in their office,devoid of a layout that lets male colleagues know that theyre important.2. They make some women feel constantly watched.The same studypublished inGender, Work and Organization, found that while open-floor office plans may be designed to enchant rather than control overtly, and to encourage movement rather than fixity, they can make some women feel uncomfortable for being constantl y watched. ResearchersAlison Hirst of Anglia Ruskin UniversityandChristina Schwabenland of the University of Bedfordshire explored the process of a local government moving its 1,100 employees from traditional offices to one big open office over the course of three years in the U.K., and, whilesome female employees reportedfeeling like the new office space promoted equality, others became hyper-aware of being constantly watched and their appearance constantly evaluated.Many said There isnt anywhere that you dont feel watched.3. They make some women feel scrutinized for their appearance.Thearchitect behind the aforementioned study compared his design to a nudist beach. Womenare alreadyscrutinized for their appearances at a far greater extent than men,and when put in an open-floor office,many report feeling that scrutiny. Women are already hyper-aware of their looks with regards to everything down to the makeup they put on their faces. Thats because attractive people earnroughly 20 per cent more than average people, and women who wear makeup are considered more competent than those who dont but women are tasked with having to appear competent but not unprofessional by applying too much. An open-floor plan that calls attention towomens appearances can exacerbate the power dynamics already at play.4.They can amplify sexual harassment.When women work in private offices, they have privacy and what should feel like safe spaces. But those are taken away in open-floor offices. One woman toldFast Co.DesignI eventually discovered that not only was I being watched all the time, (at first I thought it was just my imagination) but then my babo started following me around. If I went upstairs to make a phone call to have privacy, he would go upstairs to get water, or tea, or something. Even when I would use the side rooms, he followed me to grab something in one of these rooms, and made sure to check my screen to see what I was doing. It wasnt long before I realized this guy w as a little obsessed with me... It turned out to be a long-term disaster when I didnt respond to his advances and dreamy-eyed gazes. I had to leave in a huff, and I do not regret it.5. They make private conversations more difficult.Open offices mean that theres virtually no privacy, which makes difficult conversatins that much more difficult to have. As evermore women are reporting sexual harassment and sexism in general in the workplace, theyve limited private spaces to share their concerns with human resources and management. Speaking with someone on a one-to-one basis without the fear of being overheard, judged or worse becomes a challenge.--AnnaMarieHoulisis a multimedia journalist and an adventure aficionado with a keen cultural curiosity and an affinity for solotravel. Shes an editor by day and a travel blogger at HerReport.org by night.