Gensler Study Links Office Design with Worker Productivity

Nearly half of corporate professionals say they would work an extra hour per day if they were provided a better work environment. And nine in ten workers believe that a healthy, productive office design leads to improved employee performance and makes their company more competitive.

These were among the findings of a March 2006 survey of 2,013 office workers conducted by Los Angeles-based research firm D/R Added Value on behalf of architect Gensler (ranked #1 among architects in BD+C's Giants 300 report). The survey focused on staff and management in U.S. firms across six geographic regions and in eight industry groups, including legal, accounting, consulting, banking, insurance, and product manufacturing.

While the majority of respondents realize the important of a quality workplace environment, nearly half believe their company does not place the necessary emphasis on creating productive spaces, citing increased costs as the main reason. One in five respondents rated their current physical workplace as being “fair to poor,” and 33% believe their office does not promote interaction, collaboration, or teamwork among colleagues and direct reports.

The chief complaints are lack of space, too few quiet areas, uncomfortable workstations, and bad layout and design. An unhealthy work environment was also cited by more than one-third of respondents.