Over the past 100 years, how people work has changed dramatically, and these changes have impacted workplace design. Today’s workplace is characterized by the drive toward innovation.
At Gensler, the largest architectural firm in the world, the architects care about people and their work environments. The central theme of their work is enhancing the human experience and helping people optimize their performance at work.
Gensler’s 2016 Workplace Survey focused on understanding the relationship between workplace design and innovation. The goal was to answers to how the workplace can be a catalyst for innovation in today’s organization.
This year’s survey builds upon more than 10 years of work going back to the launch of Gensler’s first Workplace Survey in 2005. This year, Gensler surveyed over 4,000 people across the United States representing 11 different industries that employ 77 million knowledge workers.
The data was analyzed using a proprietary Workplace Performance Index, which looks at how work is done and the performance of the workplace as a whole. The data compared with an innovation index identifies important factors driving organizational innovation.
The innovation index results were plotted with Gensler’s workplace performance results, which found a tremendous correlation between workplace performance and innovation. In other words, it was able to show a direct link between key aspects of workplace design and higher levels of creativity and innovation.