So, while back, a friend of mine's team was absorbed into another division of his company. In addition to changing personnel, they decided to move the team, physically, into another area. The previous space provided was large, perhaps too large for the team anyway. Each team member had a larger than average cube and 99% of the work they did was on the computer so some space could definitely be eliminated.

Fast-forward to the move. The new area for the entire team was roughly 15% of the original space's size (I have no idea if that was the real percentage). One third of the team members were moved into offices, not bad, while the rest were places at staggered desks in the middle of the room facing each other with no walls or visual boundaries. The space behind these team members were essentially open walkways and invitations for anyone to walk up behind the working team members. This new area was called a "collaboration space".

Some described the area as a collaboration area. One person mentioned that they had read that areas like these raise productivity by 15%. Sounds good. People in close quarters working on similar things could converse and share ideas about projects in an efficient and effective manner. This makes it easy to call a quick status meeting, or gather for some quick ideation on a whiteboard.

So what happens when all of the people in the area are working on completely separate projects? What about all of the other people not located in this area who are active contributors to the project needing collaboration? What if the people located within the area have several projects on which they're working? Collaboration is non-existent. It becomes just another way to cram several people in to an area in order to save money on resources, which is definitely an great benefit when planning.

The area was distracting for those who had never worked in an open area. The busy walkway 2 feet behind them. Several separate little meetings at each person's desk going on at the same time. It was especially distracting for those who struggle with actual disorders such as anxiety and ADD. One of the team members left the area daily to go to the team's previous area, where he would sit and do work, uninterrupted, in one of the many now empty cubicles. Aside from all of this, there was not an option for privacy. Often to take a personal call, members would have to go to another area of the building or the parking lot.

Collaboration areas are a great thing… when being used by several people working together frequently toward the same purpose. Otherwise, call it what it is, a space saving work area. People still may not like it, but at least it's the truth.