Open Space Office Environments
In recent years, workplaces that resemble aquariums have become increasingly popular in Europe. Many people are forced to work in cramped spaces with all the inconveniences that come with it. Many workplaces now resemble animal farms, and sometimes the attitude is not much different. Having said that, I am fully convinced that even animals should not work in such conditions.
Recently, the expression “Free range eggs” has become popular, which of course comes to show that the eggs are of higher quality, and therefore more expensive. It seems that even animals are not able to be productive when they are closed in narrow spaces. Following this logic, people confined in such narrow spaces should also be lowly productive. There seems to be no research on this, but there should be if we lived in a democratic world. What is the reason for people being forced to work in such offices, like an aquarium. There are several reasons, but the main ones are two – Reducing costs at the expense of people. Easier control of people working on these farms.
Streamlining expenses might seem insensitive, given that these individuals already yield far more output than what they are remunerated in terms of wages – a situation that essentially keeps them in employment. Overseeing workforce behaviors has evolved, more often than not, employing the use of refined spy software applications capable of observing every movement of the employee. It should not come as a shock that this is a reality of the 21st century workplace.
Regimes within the jurisdictions where such practices are prevalent generally allow employers the liberty to monitor their workforce. This allowance is mainly because governments tend to be deeply beholden to businesses, often resulting in the sidelining of employees’ interests. This societal dynamic is particularly prominent in today’s Europe, where an oligarchy of corporations holds sway.
It is indeed astonishing that employees have come to accept such conditions as the norm. This readily accepted reality can be attributed to phenomena such as the “The Boiled Frog” effect or the “Overton Window” principle.
Despite this acceptance, it is unsaid that such an environment is detrimental to health, marked by excessive noise and low productivity levels. This scenario can be aptly illustrated by observing the behavior of contented chickens in a similar experiment.
What’s more, in settings like these, internal organizational rules often operate in seeming conflict with the laws of the land. However, the inability to contest these regulations arises due to their unjustifiable label of being “confidential”, despite there being nothing truly secretive about them. It simply hints towards an underlying fear within employers of potential legal consequences. Relying mainly on evidence, the court system too inadvertently enables such transgressions.
It turns out, these are simply agricultural establishments where the likelihood of operating in a servile setting is highly probable. My advice would be to steer clear from employment in such locales. These work sites merely signal that the sole objective of the company is profit maximization, devoid of any concern for their employees’ welfare. Numerous corporations today, for instance, IBM and AT&T, implement these labor conditions as it facilitates their profit acquisition at the expense of their employees’ satisfaction and happiness.
In recent times, a growing number of corporations have adopted a particular modus operandi within their offices, following the cognizant shift of public mindset towards accepting the “new normal“. It appears as though individuals have grown weary of pursuing their rights, superior employment services, or in certain cases, are simply overwhelmed. The consequential disparity, however, is stark. One can witness the burgeoning wealth of corporations against the backdrop of ever-increasing poverty levels of individuals and nations struggling for survival. This stark socioeconomic disparity is unfolding with your implicit approval. Indeed, corporations are unabashedly capitalizing on this dire situation.
Ladies and gentlemen, exercise wisdom in understanding that commercial corporations may not always have your best interests at heart!
