Nine out of 10 offices in Australia are open plan, but while managers think the design is great for saving money and fostering collaboration, many workers complain they are noisy, distracting and lack privacy.

New Swedish research found open plan offices also make workers sicker than the private offices of old, with women particularly at risk.

No closed shop: Sharon Zeev Poole, in her Surry Hills office, is a firm believer in open plan work spaces. Credit:Janie Barrett

A Stockholm University study of nearly 2000 workers found their office layout had a ''significant'' bearing on the amount of sick leave they took. Employees in open plan offices were the most likely to have taken days off. And when it came to extended bouts of sick leave, women in large open plan offices were far more at risk than workers in private offices, while men who were hot desking tended to record the highest number of total annual sick days.

''The evidence indicates that traditional open plan offices are less good for employee health,'' said the researchers whose study was published in the latest edition of Ergonomics.