Despite a seeming shift towards companies embracing more collaborative workplace environments across Europe, the benefits of ‘hot-desking’ and open plan working seem to still be contentious for many workers. With this in mind, Savills, in association with YouGov, has conducted a survey of 11,000 office workers across the continent to understand just What Workers Want. According to the report, 30 percent of workers in open plan offices across the continent feel that their workplace layout has a negative impact on their productivity levels, compared to only 11 percent of workers in private offices. And, of the workers whose workplace permits hot-desking, Savills reports that 32 percent feel hot-desking has a positive impact on their productivity levels, though 30 percent believe hot-desking has a negative impact.

When asked where workers would most like to spend the majority of their working time, the report found that over half (52 percent) would like to work at their own dedicated desk, followed by 18 percent who want to work from home. The report claims there is a disparity between countries when it comes to the impact workers feel that the open plan and hot-desking has on their productivity. 54 percent of Polish workers believe hot-desking has a positive impact on their productivity, against only 12 percent in the UK. Norwegian (67 percent) workers preferred their own dedicated working space more than any other country, while Portuguese (35 percent) workers were more flexible and willing to work elsewhere.

Savills discovered that the majority of workers in Europe felt that a) the ability to recycle (63 percent), b) public realm (62 percent), c) environmental performance of the building (58 percent) and d) plants/greenery inside the office played an important role in their ideal workplace. However, 12 percent of Europe’s workers reported that the workplace has an overall negative impact on their mental health.