Face-to-Face Communication in an Office Setting

The effects of hierarchical relationships and physical arrangements on face-to-face communication in an office environment were investigated. Mutual exposure, physical distance between offices, chain-of-command distance, and status distance were compared as predictors of communication time. A path model was developed using exposure as a mediating variable between the distance measures and communication time. Exposure was a sufficient predictor of communication. Chain of command, status, and office distance all related to exposure, with chain-of-command distance having the strongest association with exposure. Distance between offices was primarily associated with chain-of-command distance, with status distance having a smaller but significant effect. Results suggest ways in which organizations might manage exposure in order to influence face-to-face communication.