Work Space Design to Drive Employee Engagement

“Engaged employees are significantly more productive, drive higher customer satisfaction and outperform those who are less engaged.” Harvard Business Review

Only 20% of employees worldwide reporting that they are fully engaged at work.

Space Matters… So, how do we plan the work space to encourage and enhance employee engagement? What are the work place design drivers for employee engagement?

Engaged employees have more control over their work experience through the day.

Our requirements for different work modalities changes throughout the day from requiring privacy and heads-down, concentration work, to needing to collaborate, to needing social interaction or retreating activity, to benefiting from fresh air and outdoor time… The best work places will provide a multiplicity of spaces that support different work modalities and needs and will allow workers to make decisions for themselves about which spaces best support there needs at any given moment.

So, it all about choice and providing the spacing in the workplace to support the specific activity at hand.

The magic of collaboration and innovation often happens outside of the traditional workstation in informal meeting spaces, flexible hub spaces, at community tables, lounge spaces and spots in between. To support this, employ a mix of accessible media and technology including whiteboards, shareable screens, writable and magnetic surfaces and panels with seating.

Heads down work can happen in a diversity of settings to regroup,recharge and refocus by means of reading alcoves, booth seating, high- back chairs and semi-private hubs that allow for retreat, while maintaining connection to the larger space.