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How to Cope with Working in an Open-space Lab?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2017

Marco Pautasso  and
Wopke Van Der Werf
Marco Pautasso
Affiliation:
Animal & Plant Health Unit, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy. Email: marpauta@gmail.com
Wopke Van Der Werf
Affiliation:
Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Email: wopke.vanderwerf@wur.nl
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Abstract

Open-space labs and research environments are increasingly common worldwide. They are supposed to facilitate interactions among researchers, but can be disruptive to those who need to be in a quiet environment in order to concentrate. This problem is increasingly felt across the natural, medical and social sciences, has a clear interdisciplinary and cross-cultural relevance, but has been the focus of limited attention. We propose some simple suggestions for researchers struggling in an open-space lab, based on a literature review and our experience in open spaces in various labs and countries (Australia, China, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the USA) as undergrads, PhD students, postdocs, researchers and (W. van der Werf) professors. Our aim is to help researchers working in open-space offices and labs with some straightforward solutions that will make their lives and work easier.

Type
Articles
Information
European Review , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , October 2017 , pp. 679 - 687
Copyright
© Academia Europaea 2017 

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References

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