How workplace design can influence employee behaviour

23-May-2019

It is believed that a productive employee experience in the workplace requires three aspects – cultural, technological and physical environments.
Here are 5 things to think about when designing your office to maximise employee engagement.
Be authentic – make your space reflect your culture
What makes your company unique? Take the time to get to know this and develop some guiding principles that ensure both your workplace and culture support these. If new ideas are generated by collaboration in your business, then build spaces where staff can take time out to meet and engage with each other in casual settings and make sure this type of behaviour is not only permitted but encouraged.
Build a space where people want to come and work
Thanks to digital technology, fewer and fewer people need to undertake the daily commute into the office. Many of us no longer need to be at our desks to get work done because work can happen anywhere, but a lot of companies are turning their workplaces into destinations where staff can come in to focus, collaborate, learn and celebrate. The most successful workplaces are designed to maximise employee experience by providing ‘fit for purpose’ environments to carry out these activities more successfully.
Provide choice
There’s a constant debate about whether the open office is productive, and the truth is, majority of people don’t need to be in a collaborative environment all day long. Most need time to conduct focused work and certain personality types need more still.
The secret is to build a workplace that provides a variety of places, spaces, and postures that employees can move to throughout their day. When combined with supportive technology and culture, this type of agile workplace has been proven to enhance employee engagement.
Promote healthy behaviour
Sustainability has become a given when it comes to the built environment. The public demand has prompted manufacturers to provide products that have recycled content. Energy conservation measures have been written into the building code and property developers are focusing on locations accessible by transit or providing eco-friendly options such as electric vehicle charging stations and bike storage/changing facilities.
Be inclusive
Our workplaces are becoming more diverse and if you want to attract the best talent then you need an office environment that allows them to be their best. Traditional office layout appears to have been designed for extroverts but clearly many of us don’t thrive in those kinds of environments and do our best work away from the hustle and bustle of the open plan. It would be beneficial for businesses to create quiet spaces that are conducive to focus and concentration so that everyone can find a space that works for them.
Implementing all of the above would require some fairly significant commitment from an organisational leadership standpoint, however the potential rewards from an employee engagement perspective are huge.
To find out how we can help you with your company fit-out, contact us.

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