Engaging your staff is vital when it comes to employee satisfaction, performance, and business success. Engaged staff are typically happier, more productive, likely to remain with the company and can help boost company ROI. This has been found to be true through numerous studies and research. One of the ways to improve and enhance employee engagement is through office design. In this article we look at employee engagement, why it matters, the benefits in engaging employees and the ways in which Kent and London office design and refurbishment can make a difference.
Employee Engagement – Why It Matters
As far back as 2011 the UK government recognised the importance of employee engagement and published a labour market reform news story “Task force to improve levels of employee engagement”. They welcomed the idea of an independent, industry led employee engagement task force being formed to look into developing “practical ways to help all employers learn from the best [and] to break down barriers to engagement” with a view to “delivering sustainable growth across the UK, and coming up with new approaches to help people improve their wellbeing.”
In 2012 Engage For Success (EFS) looked at the effectiveness of employee engagement in raising performance and productivity across the UK economy and found that the UK had an employee engagement and productivity deficit. EFS believed that employee disengagement was contributing to the UK’s disappointing productivity figures and found that the annual cost to the UK economy of sickness absence was over £17 billion and that sick days per year rose from 2.69 days sick a year for an engaged employee to 6.19 for a disengaged employee.
According to Gallup in the largest study of its kind in 2024 of more than 183,000 business units across 53 industries and 90 countries, $8.9 trillion or 9% is lost in global GDP due to low employee engagement. The report goes onto say that globally only 30% of managers and 23% of staff are engaged, 62% are not engaged and 15% are actively not engaged. In the UK, this percentage falls to 10% of staff are engaged and 31% watching or actively looking for a new job due to disengagement with their current job. In effect this survey suggests 90% of the UK workforce are disengaged from their work and workplace.
The “Belonging Barometer” study by EY found that when people feel like they belong in their workplace, they are more productive, motivated and engaged. This is backed up by The American Psychological Association (APA) which found that 94% of workers wanted to feel that their workplace was a place they could belong. APA also states that “organisations that create opportunities for social connection and community can help improve mental health and well-being. This workplace essential rests on two human needs: social support and belonging.” Unfortunately, according to the study 20% of employees don’t feel they belong and 26% said they have experienced feelings of loneliness or isolation at work.
In a Harvard Business Review article of US companies, the high cost of disengagement and the resultant stress was recognised. The article highlights that healthcare costs at high pressure companies are nearly 50% greater and that it’s estimated that the costs to the US economy could be in the region of $500 billion and 550 million sick days. It also claims that 60-80% of workplace accidents can also be attributed to stress.
Benefits Of Employee Engagement
There are many benefits that come from staff that are engaged with the company they work for and the work they are doing. Below is just some of the evidence that outlines the way in which engaged staff contribute to their companies.
In a CoreNet Global and CBRE Group survey companies which focussed on employee health and wellness reported a 47% workers engagement and 25% retention rate increase and a decline in absenteeism.
Gallup found strong evidence that being able to decrease the percentage of disengaged workers brought a number of positive outcomes including “significantly higher employee wellbeing — as well as higher productivity, profitability and sales.” There was a 10% increase in customer loyalty,18% increase in sales, 23% increase in profitability and 70% increase in staff wellbeing. There were also fewer negative outcomes including a decrease in the following: 78% in staff absenteeism, 21% in staff turnover in high turnover businesses, 51% in staff turnover in low turnover businesses, 63% in accidents and a 32% in mistakes.
A report into “Employee Engagement – A review of current thinking” by The Institute of Employment Studies says that engaged employees have better health and wellbeing outcomes, invest themselves more fully in their work and are more likely to stay with a company, perform better than their work colleagues and act as advocates for their company. They also state that engagement can significantly increase company performance.
A survey by APA found that 93% of employees who reported feeling valued said that they are motivated to do their best at work and 88% reported feeling engaged, compared to 33% and 38%, respectively, of those who said they do not feel valued. Of those employees who felt valued only 21% said they intended to look for a new job in the next year vs. 50% of those who said that they do not feel valued.
Creating An Office Design Which Encourages Engagement
The right office environment can provide an office space that delivers a positive experience for staff. A well-designed office that supports staff health and wellbeing can engage staff, inspire, and motivate them, encourage collaboration and a sense of community, and increase focus and productivity. By ensuring your office design aligns with the needs of your staff, rather than work against them, you will provide a workspace that’s enables them to do their best work and leaves them feeling valued and empowered. Below are a few office design ideas that will help your business to achieve this.
Investing In Health
The World Green Building Council lists a number of areas as being important to a healthy workplace. This includes the quality of the air, thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics, ergonomic comfort, access to nature and biophilic design.
Architecture Today’s “Designing for workplace health and wellbeing” states that the increasing awareness of the need for good mental and physical health and wellbeing in the workplace has prompted awareness of the need for “good daylighting, air quality, acoustics, and temperature control, but also environments that actively reduce stress, promote relaxation and exercise, as well as strike the right balance between collaborative and individual working” and are demanded by both landlords and occupiers.
We also know that employees value an office space where air quality, temperature, light and acoustics are well designed.
Air Quality
Over the last few years air quality, along with other environmental factors, have become more important in the workplace. Where air quality isn’t regulated, it can lead to a number of symptoms including a sore throat, a dry cough, runny nose, eye irritation, breathing issues, headaches, skin rashes, dizziness, nausea, irritability, fatigue, and difficulty with concentration. In some cases, this can lead to sick building syndrome.
In fact, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) “Air quality in the workplace is the most important environmental issue you probably weren’t aware of“. The CBI analysed the economic impact that a 95% reduction in indoor pollution would provide through improved ventilation and air purification and found that improving office air quality could boost London employees’ productivity by up to 15% which translates to an additional £17,400 of output per worker. They go onto say that “These benefits potentially accumulate even further to impact entire local economies. Scaling up to a city-wide level, improved air quality throughout all offices could deliver an additional £38bn of economic activity to the London economy, boosting overall output by between 4% and 8%.”
By ensuring office air quality is regulated and monitored businesses can ensure a healthier working environment which can make for a happier and healthier office. Designing and refurbishing an office space is the perfect time to look at installing an air conditioning system or upgrading an older, less efficient air conditioning system.
Thermal Comfort
When the indoor temperature isn’t controlled, it can lead to an unpleasant and uncomfortable working environment. In extreme cases it can also result in ill health including nausea, dehydration, and headaches. When temperatures get too high or too low it can make it hard to work efficiently and effectively.
A Sage Journals study into “Thermal Effects on Office Productivity” found “an association between thermal conditions and productivity, which was highest when conditions fell in a thermal comfort zone and lowest when conditions fell below this zone.”
Cornell University’s paper “Study links warm offices to fewer typing errors and higher productivity” found that “chilly workers not only make more errors, but cooler temperatures could increase a worker’s hourly labor cost by 10 percent.” The paper goes onto say that “when the office temperature in a month-long study increased from 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit, typing errors fell by 44 percent and typing output jumped 150 percent.”
Alan Hedge, professor of design and environmental analysis and director of Cornell’s Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory said, “The results of our study also suggest raising the temperature to a more comfortable thermal zone saves employers about $2 per worker, per hour.” He went onto say that “At 77 degrees Fahrenheit, the workers were keyboarding 100 percent of the time with a 10 percent error rate, but at 68 degrees, their keying rate went down to 54 percent of the time with a 25 percent error rate. Temperature is certainly a key variable that can impact performance.”
An air conditioning system can help to control the temperature within an office space and should be factored into an office design or redesign. When it comes to office layout it’s also important to consider desk placement. You should avoid placing desks directly below HVAC outlets. It’s also worth looking at setting different temperature zones within the office depending on the work being carried out e.g. in a room where staff need to brainstorm or be creative slightly higher temperatures, around 22oC (71.6oF) have been shown to be beneficial as the higher temperature allows the body to free up energy for creative efforts (rather than trying to keep warm).
Lighting
We’ve talked about how important natural light and lighting is in previous articles when it comes to a healthy workplace and ensuring staff are provided with the right light conditions in which to work at their best.
It’s vital to incorporate as much natural light into an office layout as possible. Where natural light isn’t available it’s important to ensure the right level and type of light is part of the office design. The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say “Lighting an environment is often a complex task principally considered during the design stage of the building (by architects and interior designers). However, lighting should be designed for the tasks that individuals are carrying out within that environment.” Lighting shouldn’t be generic. Different levels of lighting are required for different types of work.
Green Plants For Green Buildings report on “The Global Impact of Biophilic Design in the Workplace” highlights a case study where Genzyme Corporation designed new headquarters which incorporated natural light; a clear glass exterior; a central atrium with chandeliers at the base that reflect sunlight; indoor gardens; water features; and windows. Eighteen months after the new building opened a staff survey found that 88% said having direct views and access to the natural elements indoors improved their sense of well-being and 75% said the building’s design increased their feeling of connection to co-worker.
Individuals should also be able to control their lighting levels within an office space. Studies have shown that even if users have different lighting preferences “provision of control even in a multi-user office resulted in a higher satisfaction with the lighting environment than in an office with a fixed light level.”
Acoustics
When it comes to office space, high noise levels tends to be one of the most common issues. It can be a major workplace stressor and the reason for a lack of employee engagement. The issue of noise in the workplace has been reported in numerous studies and surveys.
Tackling office noise is an important part of any office design and refurbishment. When tackling noise ceilings, walls and flooring should be seen and addressed as a whole during the office design phase.
The use of suspended and acoustic ceiling tiles can be an effective measure in absorbing noise as they help to reduce echoes and prevent sound from bouncing around adjacent office areas. Acoustic screens, partition walls, panels and dividers can be used as noise barriers to absorb unwanted noise and prevent it from passing from office to office. Acoustic office pods can also be installed to isolate and dampen noise while providing additional meeting spaces.
Changing the placement and spacing of desks and workstations can also play a role in managing office noise. Rather than placing desks directly in line of sight which allows sound to travel in a direct path, arrange desks in groups for team work or by projects. This can help to confine and reduce noise to smaller areas preventing it from affecting the whole office.
Soft surfaces absorb sounds and prevent noise from being reflected back into a room making for a quieter environment. Footfall noise can be reduced where carpets and rugs are used rather than using hard flooring. Introducing plants as part of an office design can also help top reduce office noise as as leaves, branches and stems absorb, deflect and refract sound.
Biophilic Design
Biophilia, is an innate tendency to seek connections with nature. Biophilic office design goes beyond the aesthetics and impacts our health and wellbeing, reduces stress levels, increases our attention span, improves memory and learning, increases creativity, and reduces presenteeism and absenteeism.
The Green Plants For Green Buildings report previously mentioned, also found that “nature and biophilic design impact our well-being, productivity and creativity at work, [and] are significant.” The report based on a survey of 7600 employees from 16 countries across the world found that “workers’ productivity depends upon the environment they are in” and “perceptions of well-being can increase by up to 15% when people work in surroundings that incorporate natural elements, providing that connection to nature, in contrast to those who have no contact to nature in their workplace.”
The Green Plants For Green Buildings report also states that “feeling good often equates to being able to do more” and this is backed up by research studies published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology “The relative benefits of green versus lean office space: Three field experiments” which compared the levels of productivity of two groups of office workers who were exposed to different levels of “office landscaping that involved the use of plants that have no formal work-related function.” They found that in all three experiments there was a 15% rise in productivity over a three-month period, when compared to those working in offices where plants were not present.
Provide Different Types Of Office Space For Different Needs
Over the years office design and layouts have changed and evolved to better meet staff needs, health and wellbeing. Companies have come to recognise that providing a variety of different types of office space to cater for different needs and to boost employee engagement is essential. There’s been shift towards including private, quiet, collaborative, and social spaces within office layouts.
The key is to offer a variety of options which allow staff to choose where to work and enable them to take breaks or socialise throughout the workday. There are a number of different types of office space that we know work well in today’s modern office design. These include:
Space For Quiet Work
Providing “quiet space” away from the hustle and bustle of the main office area, to provide privacy and a quiet space for working can be beneficial. Where space is at a premium booths or pods can offer privacy and quiet without taking up a great deal of space. They come as freestanding rooms with acoustic options that can be dismounted and moved as required.
Space For Collaboration
Numerous studies have shown that meeting spaces are important to employees and are one of “the non-negotiable elements needed to create an appealing, supportive and efficient corporate workplace” and are needed to form “the new minimum viable office.” It’s clear that providing breakout spaces within the office where staff can come together to meet, collaborate, discuss projects and brainstorm is vital.
Space For Wellbeing
Creating space for health and wellbeing, specifically designed to allow employees to be able to switch off from their work and workplace, provide a break from the noisy office environment and a place to destress, unwind and concentrate on their health and wellbeing are increasingly being recognised as an important part of the way in which companies can support their staff’s mental and physical wellbeing. This can range from a wellness room which is setup with calming colours, planting and comfortable furniture to a fitness room or gym which provides the facilities for low-intensity aerobic exercise.
Space For Socialising
Providing breakout spaces, kitchens and tea point areas or games rooms which encourage social interaction and enable employees to connect and catch up with other members of staff in an informal setting provides many benefits including an opportunity to unwind, relax and recharge, engage with other employees and feel part of the company community. These types of spaces can also double up as collaboration spaces where different employees from different departments can meet and brainstorm.
Working with a professional office refurbishment company who have the expertise in designing an office space which will engage your staff can ensure your office space works well for your business.
JBH Refurbishments, Experts In Office Design and Refurbishment
JBH Refurbishments are a cat a and cat b fit out contractor and have over 30+ years experience in Kent and London office design, office refurbishments and fit outs. We understand what’s required to carry out an office refurbishment for your business and can provide the right expertise for your Kent or London office refurbishment. From your brief, to putting together a project plan, to developing your office design and layout to delivering your office fit out JBH Refurbishments will provide the right expertise for your project and peace of mind. You can contact us via our contact page or by calling us on 0333 207 0339 today for a free on-site consultation.
