New Steelcase Research reveals lack of privacy in the office is taking a toll on employee engagement.
December 17th, 2014
In organizations around the world, employee engagement has reached alarmingly low levels. A key factor, according to new research by Steelcase, is the lack of privacy employees experience in the workplace and the impact it has on their overall ability to become deeply engaged in the work they are doing.
In many workplaces today it’s difficult for employees to find the privacy they need to concentrate, reflect or rejuvenate – all critically important activities in the quest to innovate and for overall wellbeing at work. The number one complaint from office workers is now a lack of privacy.
Many of today’s workplaces are set up as open plan offices to encourage collaboration. This type of design is highly efficient but the imbalance between interaction and privacy at many offices has reached crisis proportions, taking a heavy toll on workers’ creativity, productivity and engagement. Steelcase research has found that workers not only need places that support interaction and socializing, but also need private places to focus and rejuvenate in order to do their best thinking.
“Over the years we have seen office preferences shift from more enclosed spaces to more open. But in some organizations the pendulum has swung too far,” notes Chris Congdon, director research communications at Steelcase. “Many people do not realize that effective collaboration actually requires individual private time.”
The solution Steelcase advises is an ecosystem of different open, shielded or enclosed spaces where employees can choose the level of privacy they require. This is fundamentally about empowering individuals with choices and giving them control over their work environment. It’s about establishing a culture that values and respects a person’s need to find privacy throughout their day.
Steelcase
steelcase.com
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
The workplace has changed – and it will continue to evolve. With dynamism at the heart of clients’ requirements, architects and designers at leading practices such as Elenberg Fraser are using and recommending Herman Miller’s OE1 products for the future workplace.
Natural forms meet technological sophistication to produce GH Commercial’s Pattern Perfect® Native Collection of carpets. Step inside the factory to see how local flavours inform the design.
Visibility is the name of the game as corporate hierarchies are altered to entice workers back to the office.
Steelcase’s On the QT by Orangebox epitomises what the hybrid office should be, with a booth that exudes comfort and a sanctuary-like safety.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
As publicans, ARK Group understood the role of the country or corner pub and its value within a township. Working with Woods Bagot, a new venue has found life in the building’s heritage.
In this comment piece, Graeme Spencer, national director of science and education at HDR, discusses the state of scientific and technological innovation across the design industry.
At Ivanhoe Grammar, McIldowie Partners has tackled a demanding brief head-on. With multiple levels and a wealth of facilities, the new Sports and Aquatic Centre brings top class facilities without losing a connection to the landscape.
We have all felt it and continue to experience the ramifications of change. It’s in the air and workplace design is at the vanguard of creating new approaches to working. Design leads the way at the 2023 INDE.Awards as the spotlight shines on The Work Space category and a partner who has recently made a historic change on a global scale.