The workplace design firm Gensler not only works with companies to create more efficient workspaces, they also have been working on methodologies for measuring their impacts on corporate needs.
Back in March 2006, with the help of professional survey firm D/R Added Value, they polled over 2,000 office workers (selected from a pool of over 8,000 to achieve a representative sample) about their workplaces. Here are some results:
Workplace and empowering creativity:
- 90% of American workers believe that workplace design affects their productivity
- 50% of workers say their current office environment empowers them to innovate
- 49% of workers said that they would work an extra hour per day if they had a better work environment
- 33% say workplace improvements are a priority at their company
- The average office worker feels he or she has less time to think than they did five years ago
Where and how people work effectively:
- 84% of employees say they accomplish their best work at the office
- 12% of workers say they do their best work at home
- 67% said they were more efficient at developing ideas when collaborating closely with co-workers
- 80% of workers feel technology has enhanced their workplace environment (including desktop computers, mobile phones, video conferencing, wireless access, and mobile e-mail devices)
Who works in offices and what do they do all day (in this survey):
- 42 years old is the average age of an office worker
- 6.3 years is the average time they have been at their job
- 210 is the average number of employees a person works with in the same office
- 13% was the average amount of work time spent answering e-mail
- 14% was the average amount of time spent on the phone
- 20% was the time spent in meetings
While this survey was likely biased toward larger companies, the results offer useful insight into workplaces generally, but especially for the larger companies.
The data that I found most provocative was that while 90% of people feel their workplace is important to their productivity, only 33% see this as a priority at their company.
Could there be a lot of lost productivity from poor or anachronistic office design?
Does your workplace enhance or hamper your productivity?