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We spend about a third of our time at work and for many workers that means sitting in the same place with nothing to see but a computer screen, no natural light and the constant assault of distracting sound.
That’s bad for employees and it’s also bad for organisations because there are quantifiable studies that show getting it right makes workers more productive and much more creative.
Kellie Payne, associate director and workplace design strategist at Bates Smart: ‘There is a tendency to trivialise design and think of it just as a matter of plants and pretty desks, but workplace design has a huge effect on employee wellbeing,’ she said. ’The physical work environment can be an asset with a specific and quantifiable impact on business success.’
High tech companies sometimes attract employees with workplaces that look like indoor playgrounds. But creating sense of fun with giant slides or ping pong tables a la Google is both unachievable and unnecessary for most workplaces.
At Melbourne InDesign’s War for Talent panel event, director of architectural firm BVN James Grose told the audience, ‘We have a cross generational workforce with complex values and beliefs, so design and architecture needs to invoke human values, rather than trends.’
‘Fun can mean different things to different groups of people. Your staff might get the most fun out of working passionately on a project together. There is a difference between play and fun, and there’s a place for both in good workplace design.’
Activity-based workplaces
Interior designer Oliver Heath cautions that good design isn’t about employee perks‘Well-being should be integrated in the design. You can’t just say: ‘We’ve got a gym, so that’s well-being sorted’,’ he said.
One model which has shown an increase in productivity, creativity and staff well-being is called “activity based working.” This concept involves a variety of office environments, that are all supporting different activities, rather than conventional workplaces where an employee has a designated spot from which to do all their work.
Activity-based working offer mix of spaces and enable, an employee can move around depending on the task they are currently doing. Collaborative work can be done in a specific meeting room, focused independent work in a library or booth, and brainstorming or creative work can be done on sofas in a break-out room or at standing desks. This way of operating allows for greater movement, energy and concentration, as well as promoting autonomy and self-determination at work.
Activity-based thinking does not necessarily require a total redesign. It can be as simple as allowing workers to chose where they work.
A Harvard Business Review study showed that in some cases, employees are more productive working from home than in the office. A change of environment or pace helps strengthen employee relationships and increase creative thinking.
Read: How to make your office a co-working hub
Design that mimics nature
As we increasingly spend the vast majority of our time in entirely synthetic environments, our connection with the natural world is becoming diminished. Studies have shown that being close to nature is an adaptive human need that helps us maintain positive wellbeing and good health.
That’s where “biophilic design” comes in. Biophilia is the relationship between humans and the natural world, and biophilic design has been part of urban planning for several decades. After research showed that house prices were increased in properties that had a view of parkland or a body of water, many urban planners began incorporating the natural environment when planning developments. These days, it is standard for new housing developments to incorporate lakes, parklands and waterways as part of the overall design.
More recent research has showed that biophilic design can improve workplaces too. By mimicking natural environments within the workplace, employees feel more positive towards their work, with increases in productivity. Walk into a low-ceilinged work space with no natural light and 100% man-made materials and it’s more than likely that your creative capacity will be dampened.
A global study by Lancaster University looked at 7,600 employees in 16 countries across the world found natural elements in a workplace produced employees with 15% higher lwell-being, 6% higher productivity and 15% highercreativity.
Professor Sir Gary Cooper is the researcher behind the study. ‘For the organizations that focus on their spaces, and work hard to deliver meaningful, inspiring workplaces, the dividends are made clear in this study,’ he said. ‘Performance jumps, as does creativity. Yet, there are no off-the-shelf templates for the utopian work environment. Incorporate biophilia, yes, but listen to your people to make sure their preferences and ideals are reflected too.’
Biophilic design is linked to positive health outcomes as well as overall happiness. The Royal Children’s Hospital development project in Melbourne used natural themes, sunlight and park views throughout the building. Mark Healey was the lead interior designer on the project. ‘It’s proven that people get better when they have a view of nature, so the most critical parts of the hospital were located away from the street, and given the best views of the parkland. That was one of the starting principles of the overall hospital,’ he said.
The new Medibank building in Melbourne’s Docklands was built specifically to increase productivity, creativity and employee wellbeing through effective workplace design, using biophilic concepts. The building incorporates 2,300 plants inside the building and 520 on the facade as well as two 25-metre high street-facing green walls. The layout of the offices makes the stairs the easiest way to move between floors, encouraging staff to get up and move around. Instead of standard offices, there are more than 26 types of work settings, ranging from indoor quiet spaces and collaborative hubs to wifi-enabled balconies and the building’s public park.
David Goldsworthy is Medibank’s program director for the new office. He said the building would ‘encapsulate an environment a world away from designated desks and fixed equipment that anchors people to one place. It will be a building that encourages movement, flexibility, freedom of choice, creativity, interaction and engagement,’ he said.
‘We know that typical work behaviours such as long hours sitting at a desk lead to increased risk of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. By promoting a healthy work environment, we will, in turn, create healthy people, happy customers and a healthy business.’
Quiet zones
Most people need quiet to really focus. The perk millennial employees want more than anything, as a recent Oxford study found, is quiet.
Yet the Lancaster study found 28% of respondents said that they did not have a quiet space where they can go to work.
Workplace real estate is expensive, so private offices aren’t a realistic offering at many companies. The trick is to keep noise to a minimum. Create quiet zones separate from meeting areas or encourage work from home for focus tasks and just coming into the office for meetings.
Read: Welcoming a newbie to the office
Productivity requires trust
A US survey found that more innovative companies – as ranked by employees – emphasized individual and group work and were five times more likely than less innovative companies to have spaces that accommodate collaboration and participation.
Grose highlighted the importance of trust in well-designed workplaces. ‘These new activity-based workplaces are all about trust. Not about your employer trusting you, but demonstrating that you need trust in order to personally develop, and to do your job well.’ Flexible workplaces make it harder for employers to know where the staff are at all times, and to micromanage their performance. By allowing a degree of staff autonomy, well-designed workplaces challenge traditional hierarchical structures – but that might be the point. It is difficult to be in awe of your boss when she is working next to you in the staff garden, or playing against you on the office Foosball table at lunchtime.
By giving employees a greater level of autonomy over things like office hours, dress code and where they work, you allow people to be themselves and focus on the task rather than the rules, which helps foster creativity and innovation. When people feel trusted, they can feel comfortable in taking greater risks.
Read: How to make your office a co-working hub
