The idea of the perfect home came about over thousands of years centered around what would make a person happy if they were there all day. They have personal spaces where they rest, sleep, maybe a work room. They have common spaces where they cook food, eat food, use electronic devices, a playroom.

But now they’re not at home all day. They’re at the office.

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Developing workplace strategies around trends or benchmarking has always been of great concern to me. Many clients want to know what the latest trends in workplace design are, what others in their industry are doing. Workplace designers have been all too accommodating in providing this data and information, often at the expense of better research into how to quantify performance and uncovering more substantial information that better connects a particular workplace design strategy to an organization’s performance.

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“People are the chief currency and greatest asset of any business. With up to 80 percent of a company’s expenses coming from human resources, it’s vital that their workforce is productive, engaged and empowered. Unfortunately, 68 percent of U.S. workers are disengaged, according to the latest edition of Gallup’s annual engagement survey.

“Though there are many factors contributing to this alarming statistic, attitude plays a major role in workplace engagement. And although a well-designed space will have a positive impact on the occupants, we cannot discount or downplay the impact of individual attitudes.”

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You know what they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. These days in the workplace, there is one example of something many never thought they would miss, until it was gone—cubicles. Yes, cubicles, those sad monotonous structures symbolic of our workplace oppression. Your own personal cave where you could privately wallow in your case of 'the Mondays'. 

The past few years have proclaimed the dawn of the open-plan office revolution, but statistics are beginning to point to the idea that workers actually seem to be missing the dismal cubicle culture due to the collective feeling that they lack privacy within their office space. A fascinating survey conducted by Gensler with over 1,200 UK office workers in 11 different industries shows that effectiveness ratings in the workplace decrease the more people you share an office with and the less privacy you have at work. 

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Workplace design is not just about the physical space, says Charlie Grantham. It must include and integrate talent leadership practices and build upon a technology infrastructure if it’s going to support the whole person in his or her livelihood. Here’s how you can do it.

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The Creative Group recently conducted a survey of 400 American marketing and advertising executives and 1,000 workers, age 18 and over, on workplace creativity. Findings show that managers and employees disagree on the best office layout to encourage innovative ideas.

When executives were asked which type of office layout they believe is ideal to bolster creativity and innovation, 36 per cent chose an open-concept space for multiple people. However, 26 per cent of lower-level employees in the same field agree this layout can improve creativity.

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Company executives and their employees disagree on the type of office space that's best for sparking creativity, new research finds.

A study from the staffing firm The Creative Group revealed that employees prefer secluded spaces when trying to come up with new ideas, whereas company leaders believe open spaces are best for innovation.

Specifically, 36 percent of employees said a private office is most conducive to encouraging creativity, compared with just 18 percent of executives. Conversely, 36 percent of executives think open-concept work environments are best for on-the job innovation, compared with only 26 percent of employees.

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The office of today has evolved, with employees able to enjoy more options than ever before. CBRE president of Greater LA and OC Lewis Horne, who is among the all-star panelists, says today's office has evolved beyond simply desks that are used eight hours a day. Lew describes office space these days as a "strategic tool that can and should be used to attract and retain today’s top talent." As a result, office environments must be "forward-thinking spaces" with a focus on accommodating the creativity and well-being of workers, Lew says.

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