“You make me sick”

If you are reading this crammed into an open-plan office designed for half the number of current occupants, you are probably too hot, too cold, squinting from glare on your screen or you have been … where was I, oh yes … you have been interrupted up to 60 times today. And this is a modern office, designed for optimum performance?

A study by Leaman and Bordass [1], has identified five Killer Variables in designing offices for top productivity:

1. comfort and personal control


2. responsiveness to need


3. ventilation type


4. workgroup layout and design


5. design intent.

Given that most of us are unable to redesign our buildings, realistically what can we do about these Killer Variables?

Maximise opportunities to involve staff in designing office layout. Even if you are just buying new chairs, or rearranging seating, involving staff in the decisions (giving them control) can improve how they feel working in the office.

Building services are often overlooked in a measure of how staff involvement affects productivity and customer service. But the responsiveness (speed quality and feedback) of building managers to issues raised by staff was found to be the key factor in how satisfied staff are with their working environment. So cultivate your building manager before problems happen.

As far as ventilation goes most people would settle for more control and poorer ventilation, for example preferring windows they can open or close over what may be more accurate air conditioning. Not everyone can sit by a window, and not every office can have opening windows, but you may want to think carefully about what controls you can put in the hands of staff for any ventilation you do have.

When designing workgroups, again the key is involving people in how to layout their workspace and typically breaking larger groups down into groups of up to 8 seems to boost staff satisfaction and increase productivity.

As far as design intent this is your big opportunity if you are moving office or fundamentally reconfiguring layout, and is based on the idea that involving the people who will use the building in the original architect design and builder's delivery will significantly narrow the gap between how the building was planned to work and what happens in real life.

Involve users of the building at all stages of the design and implementation and you can expect happier, more productive, more involved employees.

Tips

Keep work groups small (groups of up to four typically show the most productivity, those over eight the lowest)

Minimise unwanted distractions, like getting the door fixed so it doesn’t squeak or slam, not positioning the coffee machine near where people need to concentrate

Don’t interfere with information flows; can people who need to see each other easily, can staff easily read the information boards and screens they need to do their job; can staff meet informally and discuss issues without getting in the way or distracting others?

[1] Reported by: Fleming, D, Facilities management: a behavioural approach 2004 Facilities Journal; Volume: 22 Issue: 1/2 Page: 35 - 43