Building a Productivity-Optimizing Workplace

As we pointed out in our May 2011 issue, the driving force behind the economy's growth has been productivity. In fact, gains in productivity have generated 80 percent of total GDP growth in recent years, more than double the 35 percent that productivity contributed to GDP in the 1970s.

Much of this recent improvement is due to automation and to leaner workforces; because of the recession, companies in nearly every industry were forced to get more work done with fewer people.

But with payrolls already cut to the marrow, the smartest employers are now turning their attention to the most promising way to keep increasing productivity: They are designing office environments that enhance the ability of their knowledge workers to perform at their best. Some of these changes affect the physical environment of the workplace; others focus on the psychological environment in which people work.

Several new research studies point to a direct link between revamped workplaces and productivity. For example, researchers from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom found that employees who are allowed to personalize the design and layout of their workspace are up to 32 percent more productive.¹ This runs counter to the conventional approach of enforcing a standardized working environment.

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According to Craig Knight, Ph.D., who conducted the study, "When people feel uncomfortable in their surroundings they are less engaged — not only with the space but also with what they do in it. If they can have some control, that all changes and people report being happier at work, identifying more with their employer, and are more efficient when doing their jobs."

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As reported in the British Journal of Management² and in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied,³ the research involved more than 2,000 office workers in a series of studies that focused on the employees' attitudes about their working space, as well as their productivity. Using surveys, the researchers assessed the level of control workers had over their space — ranging from none at all to being fully consulted over design changes. The results showed that the more control people had over their office spaces, the more motivated they were in their jobs.

But the researchers didn't stop there. They designed two further studies, one at the university and another in commercial offices, which measured how productive workers were under various conditions. Specifically, they required participants to perform a series of tasks in one of four types of workspaces:<... To read the full article, you must be a Trends Magazine Subscriber. To learn more, click here