en years ago, the world of workplace research and data was a different place. When we launched our first Workplace Survey in the UK and US, our ability to capture the how and where of knowledge work revolutionized the way we design office space and measure its performance. Now we are ahead of the curve.
Over the past decade, we’ve created the most robust proprietary research program in the design industry. We’ve collected data from 300,000+ Workplace Performance Index (WPI) client respondents, 15,000+ global Workplace Survey respondents, 4,000+ Experience Index respondents, and myriad other data-based analyses. Now administered by the Gensler Research Institute, our workplace research remains focused on identifying the connections between design, business, and the human experience. With all this data collected, some big ideas relating to the future of work and the workplace have begun to emerge.
FROM “DATA” TO “BETA”
Our research program has amassed the design industry’s largest and most diverse set of data points about the built environment. These insights have informed groundbreaking workplace strategies for clients in a wide variety of industries. In our most recent US Workplace Survey, for example, we found that innovative companies offer their employees two times more choice in when and where to work (38 percent vs. 17 percent) than their less innovative counterparts. Innovative companies also provide three times more access to
sit-stand desks.
Looking to the next phase of our research program, we are employing a wide range of data collection and analysis methods, informing a strategy of ongoing data monitoring and analysis. In this new “beta” world, we collect data, apply insights to projects, refine our conclusions based upon what we learn, and apply those new insights.
MYTH BUSTING
From the “millennial who works differently from everyone else” to the “collaborative benefits of open plan seating,” our industry is rife with common knowledge that’s often on shaky ground. We use our research to challenge these myths and find answers grounded
in fact.
The issues surrounding open plan workspaces are a great example. The challenge of open office environments proves not to be their openness per se, but more specific factors around design and employee behavior. Bench seating, for instance, is 25 percent more effective — similar to a private office — when rated highly on noise, adjustability, layout, and access. We’ve also found that innovators are two-and-a-half times less likely to use individual space to socialize; instead, they design appropriate space where productive use and culture building can take place.
