The importance of a permanent workplace

You’d be forgiven for thinking Millennials and Generation Z are flighty types but new research casts doubt on their desire for a hyper-mobile working style..

There’s a desire for private & permanent 

Ricoh – a leader in document services, consulting, software and hardware – commissioned a study in tandem with Oxford Economics, entitled ‘The Economy of the People’. It found 93% of all employees unanimously agree that working from a fixed location is where they feel most productive, while 85% of employees stated their workstation and their wider interior office design was essential to productivity.

Are you out of tune with employees?

It’s worth noting that these telling responses came from employees, whereas only 64% of executives thought a workstation was a driver of productivity – a warning shot that the hierarchy are not in tune with their workforce.

Commenting on the findings, John Reiners at Oxford Economics, said: “Though we hear often about trends to flexible co-working spaces and mobile working, our research shows that most workers want a private space at work with a workstation, environment and supporting infrastructure that helps them be productive.” If you're not providing the latter for your workforce, a commercial fit out can help.

Home working may not be the answer

While granting the option of occasional home working still brings benefits (the same research found that only 26% of employees feel they are productive working from home), it should be considered a perk and not an engrained, everyday way of working. Employers need to note the research findings and react by creating a workplace where their employees feel most comfortable and focused.

If you’d like us to initiate a company-wide survey concerning workplace satisfaction, relating to design, specification and layout, give us a call. We can create a new office design and complete an end-to-end workplace refurbishment, with improved workstations and private space.