Rethinking Workplace

We wanted to understand what matters most to end-users. Only by uncovering frustrations with the current treatment of workplace can we close the gap between how people want to live and work and the office working reality. 

So we surveyed 2,500 office workers in five European countries to establish their version of ‘The Great Indoors’. The research broadly covered the following themes: 

• How people spend their time 

• What challenges they face in managing that time 

• How fulfilled they feel in their current role 

• What concerns them most about their main workplace 

• When they feel truly rewarded 

• How much emphasis employees’ place on look, layout and location 

• What issues workplaces need to prioritise to most closely align with staff values 

The Great Indoors Index is a measure of how parameters including gender, nationality, age and preferred working style impact on the way we think, act and function in a workplace context. The European-wide results offer a useful benchmark (our index), alongside which the individual country findings can be interpreted more meaningfully, locally. In ‘Rethinking Workplace - Part I’ we focus on the physical environment - reporting on the design and specification considerations that, the research indicates, have a clear link with staff morale, employee engagement and, in turn, productivity levels. Then, as we take the wider results to market, we’ll build a picture of the bigger social trends that are influencing the human response to work settings in the here and now, as well as looking to what this means for the future of work and the ensuing commercial design opportunities.

The research reveals that – when it comes to workplace design – health and wellbeing matter most to Europe’s office workers*. Almost half (49%) of the surveyed population placed noise and indoor air quality as their top two priorities – overriding concerns with the look, layout and location of workplace settings. It also shows that, while open plan arrangements remain prevalent, 40% prefer working in a quieter space - indicating a strong need to better cater for different tasks and working styles – regardless of office layout.

Our research indicates that a significant proportion of Europe’s office-based employees are in some way disengaged:

• 45% feel unfulfilled in their work.

• Nearly a quarter (24%) admit to being ambivalent about their job.

• Over a fifth (21%) report highly negative associations (“feeling like just a number” or “relieved to get through the day”).

These insights suggest that we need to completely redefine how we think about the ‘office’ as a destination - and what it is used for. Not least, as people spend 90% of their time indoors; working, learning or relaxing. The result of reimagining the ‘central hub’ of an organisation could be significant, both for businesses and employees. However, there are many complex factors that contribute to perceived ‘happiness’ at work. What is clear, though, is that the office needs to be a collaborative space. One where employees also know they can mentally ‘zone in’ without distraction. Get it right and the rewards could be significant. Imagine if, through re-designing the traditional office environment, employee happiness could be boosted even by 1% or 2%. In a firm of 1,000 staff, that would mean 20 people feel happier day-to-day. And, as a result, think of the productivity gains. Happier workers are at least 12% more productive - possibly even as high as 20% according to The Centre of Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) at The University of Warwick (UK). Though CAGE focus more squarely on happiness and productivity at work, these types of research programmes can be used to draw meaningful correlations with the survey commissioned by Tarkett. We set out to explore the wider work and lifestyle trends that could be impacting on morale. What we discovered is the need for the wider building industry and employers to work together to create the spaces and schemes that are good for people - and for the environment. A true ‘win win’. To achieve this, we have to understand what employees really want, need and aspire to - through initiatives such as this research. Armed with insight we can help shape design briefs that bring relevant thinking to the fore to create positive, productive working environments.

In the next section we take the following themes, as prioritised by end-users, and consider their impact from a health and wellbeing angle. We also start to unpick the variations between geography, gender and preferred working styles, in particular: 

1. Health and wellbeing With a focus on noise and indoor air quality, we found a strong link between these factors and employee happiness and productivity. Our findings highlighted that simple changes could lead to a wealth of benefits. 

2. Form over function Through analysing employee reactions to office aesthetics, we saw that although not the main concern, workplace interiors have an impact on staff productivity and wellbeing – mostly for those aged between 18 and 24 (Gen Z). 

3. A different way of doing things In a more flexible working world, people have more options than ever before. But are businesses offering all that they can? Whether employees are seeking a quiet space for concentration or a more collaborative environment, our research found that a mixture of formats could produce better results

In almost all cases noise and indoor air quality were the top two concerns. The scale of the perceived noise problem increased with the size of the organisation. Nearly a third of employees in businesses of 1000+ people cited it their top workplace concern versus, on average, a quarter of staff in smaller companies. In terms of the key geographical insights, we found:

- Noise is the number one issue for every nation aside from the UK - though here it is still the second biggest frustration for a significant 24%. In the UK, indoor air quality marginally takes precedence (26%)

- In France, however, noise is far and away the most pressing workplace concern, with 30% of office workers citing it the top worry and the number two concern (uninspirational decor) not even coming close at 19%

- In Sweden, noise is much less of a problem for men - only 19% of office working males are troubled by the acoustics of their surroundings versus a third of Swedish women (33%). Conversely, Swedish men place uninspirational decor and fittings their top priority (22%), followed by indoor air quality and, lastly, noise

Nearly half (48%) of Europe’s office workers state the look/layout/location of their workplace setting is a concern 

Form is more of a concern over function - 56% of European office workers acknowledge their surroundings “don’t look great” versus the 22% that have functional frustrations 

In general, Scandinavian style wins out across the board with 28% preferring a well-ordered, minimalist influence 

Collaborative and homely environments with interconnected spaces are the second biggest draw for 19% (more popular in Sweden with 25% electing for this look) 

Bright, fun themed Google-esque builds are not as attractive with only 10% opting for adult ‘work hard, play hard’ concepts 

Dutch and Swedish employees are most proud of their workplace settings, with 49% and 43% praising the aesthetic appeal and functionality of their surroundings, respectively. UK office workers are most dissatisfied, with nearly a fifth (19%) admitting their office neither looks great or functions well 

In Germany function wins out by a long way with 80% recognising carefully thought through environments that fall down when it comes to form (only 29% of Germans would rate their office ‘look’ highly)

While the majority of Europe’s office workers equally enjoy working independently and collaboratively, of those with a strong preference, there are far more people that would rather work independently.

• In Germany, most people recognise themselves as independent workers (43%) - even over those with no preference or who consider themselves equally as productive in both scenarios (34%) 
• The UK has the fewest employees who would consider themselves as being naturally collaborative (only 10%) 
• Sweden is the most adaptable nation with 54% claiming to enjoy both approaches and no style being particularly dominant - although it is the only country where there are more people identifying as collaborative (24%) over independent (20%)

Accommodating different tasks and working styles: 

52% of those identifying as collaborative people would prefer to be in an open plan setting versus 22% of independent workers 

Over a fifth (21%) of independent workers don’t consider themselves most productive in the office (versus only 13% of collaborators). 74% of team workers believe they perform at their best in the office 

Work and home being in sync is more important to independent workers. 17% put it in their top three factors influencing how fulfilled they feel at work, compared to 12% of those identifying as collaborative. Furthermore, this latter group didn’t see it as having any significant correlation (i.e. it doesn’t feature in their top three)

There’s no denying that the world of work is changing. The wants and needs of the modern workforce are more wide-ranging than ever before. And as a result of this, businesses must adapt in order to attract and retain the best talent. With health and wellbeing topping the list of concerns for European workers – a theme that’s increasingly being reflected in design trends – this seems the most logical start in promoting more productive office environments. From the introduction of living walls to the implementation of quiet zones to support ‘deep work’, designers are constantly coming up with new ways to help improve employee happiness and wellbeing, and as a result, company productivity.

Over the coming months, we’ll be continuing to work with our esteemed A&D community and valued end-user customers to explore how our report findings can be implemented to achieve best practice. We’ll also be embarking on a number of initiatives to more fully understand the current treatment of workplace – bolstering our survey results with qualitative insights. Our aim is to inform a healthier and more wellbeing-driven office environment for the future.