NEXT OFFICE
®
INSIGHT REPORT OUR LEARNINGS FROM WORKPLACE ANALYSES
Over the years, we have helped many clients make value-creating changes to their office environment. We do this through Next OfficeÂŽ, our workplace analysis which helps create customized, sustainable and future proof workplaces which promote productivity, creativity and wellbeing. We have found that the most important thing is to understand and work around the specific needs of the organisation. At Kinnarps, we firmly believe that advice on office change needs to be founded in data - not buzz words or guess work. We have conducted the in-depth research detailed in this report to get an unbiased, numbers-based view of the way organisations are working, and what that means for office design.
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01
H OW SATISFIED ARE WE WITH OUR PLACES OF WORK?
3
HOW SATISFIED ARE WE WITH OUR PLACES OF WORK? Productivity and creativity 5.3 Collaboration 4.8
5.2
Total average
While our respondents see office space as exerting a major influence over their experience of work, there’s not an abundance of enthusiasm around current designs. That being said, it is still a reasonably important factor in employees’ enjoyment of work.
Across 24 questions about how the office environment supports the business and the employees in their tasks, it is clear that offices do not seem to support how we work. The average score is 5.2 out of 10. Overall, there is room to improve our offices.
Health and wellbeing 5.4 Accoustics, light and air 4.8 Current work environment 6
SUPPORT PROJECT AND GROUP WORK?
10 09 08
7.8
01
02
03
04
05
08
09
10
6.1
07
NOT SATISFIED
HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE FACILITIES TO
TO ENABLE YOU TO BE PRODUCTIVE? VERY GOOD
HOW WELL DESIGNED IS YOUR WORKING ENVIRONMENT
OFFICE TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD AT WORK?
NOT GOOD
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE DESIGN OF THE
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
4.3
VERY SATISFIED
In short, not very.
06 05
HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH YOUR SOCIAL AREAS?
HOW GOOD IS THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANISATION?
10 being ‘very important’ and 1 being ‘not so important’
01
02
03
04
05
06
6.1
07
08
09
10
01
02
03
04
05
4.5
06
07
08
09
10
VERY SATISFIED
01
VERY GOOD
02
NOT GOOD
03
NOT SATISFIED
04
4
IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT?
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
VERY GOOD
Of course, as important as collaboration is to creativity and culture as a whole, concentration can be just as important. As such, an office has to offer opportunities for unbroken focus. Again, scores here are middling at best.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE NOISE LEVEL
NOT GOOD
It’s easy to imagine that if staff felt better able to connect with colleagues, their rating of culture would also improve, from modest positivity to real buy-in.
4.9
Control and comfort go hand - if you can adjust settings to suit, you tend to feel more comfortable. So, it’s no surprise that one of the survey’s most important questions, ‘How do you feel in the working environment?’ got a tepid response...
HOW DO YOU FEEL IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT? 10 09
HOW EASILY CAN YOU ADJUST THE LIGHT IN YOUR
08
WORKING ENVIRONMENT?
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
5.2
10
VERY EASILY
NOT EASILY
SUPPORT CONCENTRATED WORK?
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
VERY EASILY
HOW WELL DOES THE WORK ENVIRONMENT
NOT EASILY
07
4.4
06 05
5.6
04 03 02 01
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE AIR CONDITIONING IN
10 being ‘very satisfied’ and 1 being ‘not satisfied’
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
VERY GOOD
Sound levels, however, seem to be part of a wider problem around a lack of control. Our questions regarding the ease with which employees could adjust their environment earned universally low scores.
NOT GOOD
YOUR WORK PLACE?
4.2
5
02
H OW OPEN ARE WE TO OFFICE CHANGE?
6
HOW OPEN ARE WE TO OFFICE CHANGE? 10 DO YOU FEEL THAT
09
It depends on who you mean by ‘we’...
08
Given current satisfaction levels, you’d expect a fairly strong desire for change among employees and our survey certainly finds evidence of that. When we asked respondents to describe both their current working habits and those they’d like to adopt in the future, we saw a clear desire for greater mobility. While only 17% described themselves as partially mobile (meaning they often complete tasks away from their main workstation), 42% said they would like to work this way.
07 06
7.3 6.1
5.7
YOU ARE OPEN TO
DO YOU AGREE THAT YOU NEED TO BE MORE CREATIVE
CHANGES?
AND INNOVATIVE AS AN ORGANISATION?
DO YOU FEEL THAT
05
COLLEAGUES ARE
04
OPEN TO CHANGES?
03
DO YOU FEEL THAT THE
02
WHOLE ORGANISATION
01
IS OPEN TO CHANGES? 10 being ‘a lot’ and 1 being ‘a little’
With this being the case, it isn’t surprising that employees score their openness to change fairly high. Interestingly however, employees seem less sure if their colleagues share their enthusiasm. And when it came to gauging the appetite of the organisation as a whole, the score falls even further.
17%
42% PEOPLE WHO OFTEN
PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE
WORK AWAY FROM THEIR
TO WORK AWAY FROM
MAIN WORKSTATION
THEIR MAIN WORKSTATION
68%
YOUR CLOSEST
Embracing change can allow us to be more innovative as an organisation - it can allow us to find new, creative ways of working. Our research shows that employees are indeed open to their organisations becoming more creative.
Yes
17% No
15% Don’t know
This suggests some sense of disconnect, with individuals perhaps feeling their priorities do not necessarily align with those of their colleagues - or those setting the strategic agenda.
“
“It seems clear that leaders need to address the concerns of their workforce and take on some process of consultation before beginning any change programme. Our experience has shown us time and again that though buy-in from the c-suite is crucial, a top down approach to change is usually problematic. These survey results may contain a hint as to why.” Peter Knecht Head of International Concepts - Kinnarps
7
03
H OW MOBILE ARE WE AT WORK?
8
HOW MOBILE ARE WE AT WORK?
Not as much as we might be.
There are obvious reasons for this. According to our Next Office® workplace analyses, 44% of
We’ve already seen that - in the main - our respondents have an appetite to work in a less desk-bound way. But at present, mobility isn’t all that common...
work consists of written/computer-based tasks: the sort of jobs traditionally done at the desk. But just because employees spend a lot of time engaged in such tasks, doesn’t mean they all have to be done in the same place - or indeed, the same atmosphere. So, we see an increased desire for a larger variation of work environments/settings.
In fact, we found that 33% of respondents remain totally stationery throughout their working day. Yet, 29% more people would like to be at least partially mobile, who are not already.
HOW MOBILE ARE YOU TODAY?
2%
17%
48%
33%
HOW MOBILE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN THE FUTURE?
42%
6%
19%
Totally mobile
Partially mobile
Stationary
Partially stationary
33%
A well-designed lounge space can support all kinds of tasks, while bringing a wide-range of non-trivial additional benefits. It also backs up the trail of thought that the whole office, and not just your desk, is a workspace. Even without these considerations, choosing to get out of your seat more often has its own benefits. In terms of calories burnt, standing for just three hours a day equates to a marathon over the course of a year - and that’s going to impact wellbeing.
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“Standing for 3 hours each day, over a period of 12 months, will burn the same number of calories as running 10 marathons” Source: BBC/University of Chester
Current statistics show that whilst most work continues to be sedentary, 21% of workers are standing for at least half of the working day.
HOW DO YOU WORK AT YOUR DESK
27%
2% 4% 21%
Stand all of the time Stand most of the time Roughly 50/50 Sit most of the time Sit all of the time
46%
9
04
H OW OFTEN DO WE COLLABORATE?
10
HOW OFTEN DO WE COLLABORATE?
More than you may have thought. Overall, our survey shows an almost-even split between the time spent working individually and collaboratively.
HOW DO YOU WORK?
This has implications for design. Given that spaces clearly have to be effective in meeting the needs attached to both kinds of work, it makes sense that many of the kinds of spaces that have become more prevalent in recent years are inherently versatile. A work lounge for instance, may serve just as well for a small group who need to bounce ideas off each other as for the single employee who wants to check emails on their laptop.
All in all, our research suggests that the ability to collaborate in the workplace remains crucial, so it is an important factor which needs to be considered carefully in the design of an office.
“
POPULAR COLLABORATIVE WORKING ENVIRONMENTS
53%
“Ultimately, when it comes to striking a balance between collaborative spaces and those that lend themselves to working alone, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The golden rule is simply this: determine your employees’ needs and build around them.” Kenneth Tvieto Next Office Change Manager - Kinnarps
LOUNGE
CREATIVE SPACE
SMALL MEETING SPACE DO YOU AGREE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE
47%
COLLABORATIVELY
INDIVIDUALLY
That said, creating flexibility doesn’t have to come from providing multi-purpose spaces. It could be that employees are better served by having a range of more specialised spaces. Concentration workstations, for example, were the preferred workspace.
COLLABORATION BETWEEN TEAMS?
75% Yes
16% No
9% Don’t know
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05
H OW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN OUR MEETINGS?
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HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN OUR MEETINGS?
Generally, only a handful.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE, USUALLY, IN THE PHYSICAL MEETINGS YOU ATTEND?
We’ve already talked about the general shift towards smaller meeting spaces and our data points to one very simple reason for this trend: most meetings aren’t that big. Our Next Office® workplace analyses found that 60% of meetings comprise of just two to five people. Only 8% feature more than ten people, while the smallest group size (two to three people) accounts for 17%.
“
“
Our data points to one very simple reason for this trend: most meetings aren’t that big
8% 11%
10+
2-3
17%
Of course, these numbers only account for those physically present. With video conference technology already remarkably improved over the last few years and also increasing fast during times of crises when working for home increases, there’s far less need for partners outside the organisation - or those who are part of it but working remotely - to come into the office.
8-9 21%
“
6-7
4-5
43%
“As meeting rooms are used infrequently, large meeting spaces musn’t always have four walls. They can be open spaces with the possibility to screen off, to be multifunctional and with a high occupancy rate. They could be canteens or lounges that can be transformed into meeting spaces. With flexible interiors the spaces can be rearranged to fit the needs of the company.” Muhtesem Shirin Next Office Concept Manager - Kinnarps
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06
H OW OFTEN ARE WE USING OUR WORKSTATION?
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HOW OFTEN ARE WE USING OUR WORKSTATION?
A lot. But not as much as we believe. Workstations are no doubt important, but how important is it that they are ‘personal’? Well on average our respondents still attach a fairly high degree of importance to their personal workstations.
However, it seems that this importance may have more to do with psychology than productivity. The high importance we place on the personal workstation has more to do with the feeling of safety and belonging. But, it might well be possible to find this in other ways - ways that can also boost productivity and collaboration. One important thing when it comes to personal workstations is to know what focus level you desire. This is often neglected when talking about personal workstations and where to place them.
HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR PERSONAL DESK TO YOU IN GENERAL? 10 09 08 07
7.6
ESTIMATED DESK OCCUPANCY RATE
06 05
Our data shows a big discrepancy in how much people think they use their workstations compared to actual occupancy rates. Asked to estimate the proportion of time spent at their desks, our respondents said 74%. However, when we actually tracked their movements, we found that desks were only occupied 40% of the time on average.
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“It makes sense to remember that a 1:1 desk ratio isn’t the only way to give employees a sense of ‘home’. ‘Neighbourhoods’ and team zoning are just two more flexible trends that we see growing in popularity. Looking forward, leaders will also need to be aware that the next generation to join their teams have different expectations of work and a desk may not be one of them.“ Henrik Axell Next Office Concept Manager - Kinnarps
74%
04 03 02 01
ACTUAL DESK OCCUPANCY RATE
40%
10 being ‘very important’ and 1 being ‘not so important’
15
07
W HERE DO WE PREFER TO WORK?
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WHERE DO WE PREFER TO WORK?
That’s a question with a lot of different answers. When asked to pick which work setting employees preferred, the vote was fairly wellspread between the options.
The graph below shows that the office is characterized by diversity - we choose location and environment depending on personality, age, physical conditions, sound, light, ergonomics, culture, mood, colleagues and design.
PREFERRED WORKING ENVIRONMENTS
The fact that the top three most popular spaces are all so different - representing a mix of formal, informal, collaborative, private, social and silent settings - seems to provide further evidence that flexibility is essential in the modern workplace.
Henrik Axell Next Office Concept Manager - Kinnarps
22%
WORKSTATION
11%
SMALL MEETING SPACE LOUNGE
8%
PROJECT SPACE
8%
VARIANCE
6%
A PLACE FOR DIALOGUE
5%
LARGE MEETING SPACE PHONE SPACE
4%
MEDIUM MEETING SPACE
4%
TOUCHDOWN AREA
3%
CANTEEN & CAFÉ
3%
CREATIVE SPACE
3%
OTHER
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“We believe in choice… Giving staff the option to choose their preferred setting to work in allows them to be more productive, engaged and creates a sense of empowerment.”
All in all, it’s clear that a variation of environments are wished for in our offices. 13% 17
08
H OW OFTEN ARE WE IN THE OFFICE?
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HOW OFTEN ARE WE IN THE OFFICE?
Most of the time, but not always. So, do we need the physical office in the future? Well, our statistics show that we spend 85 % of our working time inside the office - so the answer is yes. We still need a place to meet. But, the office of the future should be adapted to actual needs and support fruitful collaboration, whether that happens in person or in a virtual project room. For instance, our research shows that 39% of work is on the computer or writing, so the design of an office should reflect this. All in all, there is a need for a variety of environments.
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“To create an office that employees actually want to go to, that supports their activities and needs, is crucial. It must put their health and wellbeing first to enable them to be more productive, efficient and creative.” Sarah Booth Design Manager - Kinnarps
85%
INSIDE THE OFFICE 15%
OUTSIDE THE OFFICE WORKING PATTERN
Talking on the phone / virtual conversations includes short and long calls, sensitive and private calls.
12%
2%
Booked meetings include meetings with colleagues and customers, project meetings, presentations, virtual meetings, work meetings, teamwork, collaboration, planning meetings.
16%
4%
Computer work / writing includes emails, document work, tenders, CAD, drawing, programming, calculations, chat, social media
39%
5%
Spontaneous meetings include discussions with colleagues, coffee with colleagues, coaching / feedback and 1-to-1 meetings
9%
1%
Other activities include reading, research, planning, travelling time on business, seminars, courses, administration, archiving work, private activities.
9%
3%
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WHAT DOES THE OFFICE OF THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?
20
WHAT DOES THE OFFICE OF THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?
With technology continually facilitating greater degrees of flexibility, it may not necessarily be the primary base for all of your workforce. At the same time, just as work now tends to follow us home, many expect their workplace to have at least some element of homeliness - with dedicated spaces in which to rest, recharge and socialise. And if employees are in the office less often, it is arguably even more important to foster a sense of organisational belonging when they are there. As a key contributor to your overall culture, your space is also part of your recruitment and retainment strategies. Indeed, this is arguably where the greatest long-term returns are found - after all, promoting productivity is only really meaningful when you have the right people.
Our report shows that there’s widespread desire for more mobility. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that a complete overhaul, or the sudden removal of personal workspaces is the right way to go. As your workforce becomes increasingly multi-generational, providing choice is likely to be essential to raising levels of satisfaction. This isn’t just down to expectations of work, but also the nature of work. With our report revealing that respondents split time almost equally between collaboration and concentration, most organisations will need to provide smarter ways of enabling both.
“
As your workforce becomes increasingly multi-generational, providing choice is likely to be essential to raising levels of satisfaction.
Wherever possible, spaces should be designed in such a way that employees are able to exercise control over the environment and alter it as their needs demand. Our satisfaction survey saw low results overall - especially with regards to questions of adjustability. Of course, the data we’re discussing here is taken from a wide range of organisations and provides an overview. There’s no such thing as a typical business, and if you want your own re-design to be data-driven, it’s important that you gather actionable insights on the specifics of how your space is used and how your people feel about it. Ultimately, those pieces of information will be more valuable to you than any outside advice. It’s just a case of obtaining them...
“
Well, given that form follows function, perhaps it makes more sense to ask a different question: what will the office of the future be for?
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INTRODUCING KINNARPS NEXT OFFICE ® PEOPLE When you redesign your office space you aren’t just updating the places your people work, but the way they work too. So, to make your project a success, you need to consider all aspects of the environment. Sustainable environments, sustainable economics and a sustainable workforce are just a few of the benefits of investing time in finding the ideal office design solution for your organisation.
Managment should have a clear and common vision of the best way of working for the organisation and all employees should be involved and included in the change process.
NEXT OFFICE® S PAC E Work areas should be appropriate to the tasks their users face - regardless
T E C H N O L O GY
of whether that entails
Digital tools are essential to the
collaboration or concentration.
modern workforce and unless a space is built to leverage them, it’s unlikely to be fit for purpose. 22
KINNARPS NEXT OFFICE ® WORKPLACE ANALYSIS By bringing all stakeholders into the process, Next Office® helps generate the high level of buy-in any successful project needs. With the workplace analysis as a basis customised, sustainable and flexible work environments can be created based on the activities that actually take place in the office.
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V I S I O N & G OA L S
N E E D S M A P P I N G & I N VO LV M E N T
R E S U LT S & R E C O M M E N DAT I O N S
First, we gather the management or project group to create
In the next step, we include and involve the staff in the
Everything that has emerged in our meetings, discussions
consensus about the project. We hold the lecture “Inspiration to
process. Through various workshops, interviews and the
and workshops is compiled in a report. Together with you, we
change” based on research and experience.
lecture “Inspiration to change” we test new ideas and ways of
review the report’s results and its conclusions.
thinking, go through the different spaces in the office, what We conduct a workshop to identify challenges and opportunities
activities take place in them and identify needs.
and discuss how you work today and how you would like to work in the future.
Based on your vision and goals, we give recommendations on office layout, way of working and ergonomics for the next
After this every employee fills in a web survey individually with
step when designing a drawing. We also give space allocation,
questions about how they work today and how they would like
number and type of environments and zones that would best
to work in the future.
suit your company.
It is important that the management has a clear picture of the
We also offer a utilisation study, measuring how the current
The report also works as a valuable request documentation
business’ goals and values.
office space is used.
with the right evaluation parameters.
From analysis to a new office
With carefully selected furniture, materials and colours, we
the staff, we review the functions and opportunities that exist,
build a physical environment that realises the organisation’s
how the environments are to be used in an ergonomically
We help concretise the new office by drawing suggestions for
vision. Kinnarps own staff delivers and installs the interior and
correct way and function in accordance with the set way of
an interior design solution based on the results of the analysis.
gives an introduction to the new environment. Together with
working and guidelines developed for the specific company.
Together, the group formulates values, vision, goals and strategy going forward and we set the project- and timeplan.
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we have conducted over:
200 18000 1300 NEXT OFFICE® WORKPLACE
NEXT OFFICE® SURVEYS
ANALYSES
NEXT OFFICE® EMPLOYEE
If you want to find out more about how Next Office® could work for you, we’d love to talk it over. Simply contact your local Kinnarps office.
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Kinnarps is Europe’s leading supplier of total interior design solutions for offices, schools and healthcare, with operations in 40 countries and a Group turnover of SEK 4.2 billion. The entire value chain is characterised by high quality and low environmental impact – from raw materials to finished solutions. Kinnarps was founded in 1942 and is a wholly-owned family company with manufacturing in Sweden.
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KINNARPS GLOBAL RANGE & COMMUNICATIONS / ISSUE 2020 | ALL INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
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