What is your office doing to your head?
By Bryan Borzykowski 5 August 2015
Can’t concentrate? Blame your desk
Deafened by sales calls, sneezed on by colleagues and itching to find some privacy? Welcome to the uncomfortable reality of the workplace for millions.
More than merely uncomfortable, actually. Numerous studies have shown interior design can have a significant impact on workers’ productivity and wellbeing.
“Environment is an important driver of people’s work behaviour,” said Linda Slowik, a professor of psychology at the University of Detroit Mercy, in Detroit, Michigan. “What organisations need to do is to provide a space where people feel as effective as possible.”
Employees are 50% less productive when they think other people can look over their shoulder and see what they’re doing on their computers or mobile devices, according to a 2013 study from global technology company, 3M.
A 2013 survey by by Gensler, a global architecture firm, found that more than half of workers in open office spaces are distracted by their co-workers.
Is your office environment making you less productive? Click on the arrows above to find out. (Credit: Alamy)
Too open
Work hard if you crave that private little corner office. To bag this spot, you’ll likely need to become chief executive officer of your company.
Otherwise, you’ll probably have to work in an open office space indefinitely. These areas are typically cheaper to construct and they allow companies to fit more people into less space.
“The number one complaint that people have about their office is the feeling that they don’t have enough access to privacy,” said Meg O’Neil, a senior designer at Steelcase, a global office space furniture manufacturer.
While the open office concept can be good for collaboration and communication it’s not suitable for everyone, says
Craig Knight, psychology professor at the University of Exeter in the UK.
“There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with it, but some companies try and cram every single function into an open planned space,” he said.
Even more worrying, some studies suggest an open concept design is bad for your health. A Canada Life survey conducted in 2014 found that employees who work in an open-plan space took 70% more sick days than people who worked from home.
Other studies have found that noise that comes from being in an open concept environment hurts recall. Privacy, on the other hand, has been found to increase job performance.
Still, certain office cultures do work better with an open concept plan, says Knight.
“If you want to instil this lean, six sigma approach where you can walk around the desk to make sure everything is clean, then you’ll need that open plan space,” he said. (Credit: Thinkstock
Forty winks
One way some employers are solving the lack of privacy is by creating special spaces that are less noisy. That could be a room to make family phone calls or a spot with a desk to do some quiet work. Some companies even have nap rooms, where staff can get some shuteye for a few minutes. Workers in London’s Jubilee Mall can sit in a “colour therapy pod” that uses mood-altering lights above a comfortable chair.
O’Neil, who studies how different spaces impact wellbeing, says these spaces help people feel rejuvenated and refocused. “Privacy doesn’t mean you have to lock yourself away to do work all day,” she said. “Getting a moment of respite can make you feel recharged again.”
Employee choice is the key to a well-designed office space, says Knight. Companies can create the most up-to-date office possible, but if employees don’t have a say in how the space is created, then it won’t do much good.
A nap room is a good example. It’s a hot trend these days, but it only works if employees use it.
“If it’s a gimmick then it won’t do much,” Knight said. “There could be other styles of break-out rooms that are far better for people.” (Credit: Steelcase)
Concrete jungle
Worker bees don’t have much say in whether their office space is open plan or not, but there are things they can do to improve their area. Decorating, for instance, gives your co-workers some insight into your personality and can make you feel better too, says Slowik.
Photos and foliage help brighten up the office or the desk. They offer “visual interest, so you can look at something besides your computer,” she said, adding you should choose “decorations that your office won’t object to.”
Bland and stark workplaces kill creativity, said Professor Knight, citing a study that showed employees were 38% more productive when a few houseplants were added to their space. Greenery can also boost staff wellbeing by 47% and creativity by 45%, he said. It’s not necessarily because of the plants themselves, he says, but rather because they make an office more engaging. Other things can do that too, though, such as a guitar in the corner of the office.
“It’s not the plant making people happy, it’s the better workspace,” he says. “How it looks can make us more psychologically comfortable.” (Credit: Francois De Heel/Getty Images)
Let there be light
Companies have been experimenting with natural light for years, and research proves it can increase productivity. When Lockheed Martin, a global aerospace and defense company, in 1983 moved some of its employees into a building with abundant natural daylight, it saw a 15% decrease in absenteeism.
That’s why, in part, companies are lowering cubicle walls. They used to be eye level — about six feet — but they’re now closer to 42 inches to let in more light, says Heidi Painchaud, managing principal of interior design with B+H Architects, a Toronto-based architectural firm.
If you can position your desk closer to a window, then do that.
“What you don’t want is to sit in a room with no natural light,” said Painchaud. “It’ll slow you down. You need to be able to look outside and keep tabs with what’s going on outdoors.” (Credit: Alamy)
Power positioning
Your office space can impact how others feel about you… and about themselves. Executives who put their desks across from their employees — where one person has to face the other — are projecting power, says Slowik. A desk that faces the wall and requires a staffer to sit next to the executive gives off a sense of inclusion.
You should think about how you want others to see you and create a space that reflects that, says Slowik.
“It’s a strategic sort of a feng shui,” says Slowik. “If your desk is a barrier than it could lead people to think things about you that you don’t want them to think.”
The location of a cubicle or an office can also impact the perception of power. In Western cultures, a desk next to a window indicates that the person is more powerful, says Slowik. The farther away from the window you are, the less powerful you appear.
“Even a bad view is better than no view at all,” she says.
The most powerful office, though, is one with a receptionist, preferably in an adjoining office where visitors have to pass through before they can get to you, she adds. (Credit: Alamy)
Musical chairs
When it comes to the modern workplace, workers want choice. There should be spaces for collaboration and spaces for privacy. There should be unassigned desks for people who travel to a remote office in another city, and employees should be able to work from home. Ultimately, these choices have health and productivity benefits.
“Employers and employees need to understand that space plays a factor in the way you work and people should be able to exercise some choice and freedom around that,” said O’Neil.
Chairs that allow unlimited seating options are one option, says Painchaud. “High performance furniture” that allows workers to manipulate it includes the Zody chair by Haworth or the B-Free stool by Steelcase. Some chairs allow people to work in a standing position, work sitting down or even work on the floor.
Knight goes one step further. Instead of just giving people a chair that allows different seating options, he says staff should be allowed to choose the chair they want.
“Those all-in-one chairs are a fine idea,” he says. “But you know what’s better? If workers are given a range of furniture and can decide which one they like best.” (Credit: Steelcase)
Source: https://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20150804-cant-focus-blame-your-desk