CARS Quiz
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FOUNDATIONS OF COMPREHENSION
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Read the passage and answer the question.
Advocates of open-plan offices and their critics often talk past each other because they treat "productivity" as a single phenomenon. I will not attempt to resolve that larger controversy. Instead, I will make a comparative point about one subset of work: tasks that require frequent, rapid coordination among colleagues.
For such tasks, proximity can reduce the cost of small clarifications. A designer can confirm a detail with an engineer without scheduling a formal meeting; a new employee can observe how decisions are made. These are not trivial advantages. They are also not guaranteed. Proximity can just as easily produce performative busyness, where visible activity is mistaken for progress.
The comparison becomes clearer if we contrast coordination-heavy work with tasks that demand sustained solitary concentration. For the latter, the open plan's ambient noise may impose a tax that outweighs any benefit of quick access to others. I do not claim that one layout is superior overall; I claim that the trade-offs differ by task type.
Even within coordination-heavy work, the benefits of proximity depend on norms. If a team lacks clear channels for asking questions without interruption, proximity can amplify distraction. Conversely, a remote team with well-designed documentation may coordinate effectively despite distance, though that possibility does not show that distance is always preferable.
The practical implication is modest: organizations should evaluate office design by mapping it onto the kinds of tasks people actually do, rather than by assuming that a single layout will optimize all forms of productivity.
Which statement would the author be least likely to agree with?
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