Making the Team: A Guide for Managers

Distance

Even more encompassing than the social structure of an organization is its physical structure. Indeed, the physical layout of an organization can exert powerful effects on team productivity.

For better or for worse, teams operate within the physical constraints set by the organization. In terms of physical space, there is a direct, nearly perfect negative correlation between distance (as measured in feet) between employees' offices or workspaces and the interaction patterns between them. People form relationships, both personal and professional, to others who are close to them. Obviously, these processes feed on each other. Being physically close leads people to like and work with each other. People choose to be near those whom they ...