by Marisa Wright

Created on: October 01, 2008   Last Updated: October 07, 2008

EMPLOYEES ARE PEOPLE TOO!

With ever rising office rents, the focus in office design has been to fit more and more people into a smaller space. While that may save dollars in rent, employers are now realising it can cost in the long run with stressed, unhappy employees leading to poor productivity and high staff turnover.

Modern office design is based on one fundamental principle: employees are more productive if they feel they belong to a team. The principle may be sound, but the interpretation was flawed because it overlooked one important consideration: although workers are motivated by being part of a team, they don't like to be thought of as that they also need to be recognised as an individual.

The introduction of hot desking (where staff don't have their own desk, but sit at whichever desk is free) taught us valuable lessons about the importance of recognising the individual. Surveys show the overwhelming majority of staff hate hot desking, regardless of how well it's organised even if they work on a laptop and have few files to move around. In fact, they reported the same feelings as if they'd been made homeless!

Considering many workers spend most of their daylight hours at work (or commuting to and from) it's not surprising they need a place to call "home" in the office. Hot desking means the employee no longer has a place to call their own so they lose any sense of "ownership" of the office space, losing all interest in keeping the office tidy, looking after office property etc.

Even for staff who do have their own permanent workstation, the smaller desktop and lower screens mean there's little space for the family photos or mascots that used to grace office desks. If you're one of those employers who ban such things because they make the office look "untidy" think again! Having a sense of belonging gives your employees a feeling of wellbeing that will repay you in spades in enhanced productivity.

Low screens between workstations were supposed to improve communication and teamwork, but in the process it trampled all over the individual's right to privacy. Conversations can be heard, not just by adjacent workers but by staff far across the floor. The low screens also caused a massive increase in noise pollution highly distracting in jobs where concentration is important, resulting in errors and loss of productivity.

We're now realising at least part of the screen needs to be high enough that when the user is on the phone, they are speaking into the screen, not over it. The screen fabric should be sound-absorbent, too (not just trendy mesh!). Higher screens are not the whole solution, though. Sound waves travel upwards as well as across. The noise you hear from the person next to you is more likely to have bounced off the ceiling than come straight at you! So a good acoustic ceiling is essential in a densely-populated office. Avoid the fashionable, high-ceilinged warehouse look unless you're prepared to listen to conversations from the other end of the office all day.

You'll often hear that employees work better if they have a sense of ownership of the task they're doing. The same is true of their workplace. Let your staff personalise their workspace and they will feel happier and so will you!

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