The most recent Workplace survey conducted by Steelcase, an international work effectiveness company, offers an inside look at how the physical work environment impacts worker productivity and the ability to share knowledge throughout organizations. 

Over 1,500 corporate executives, facility managers, and design professionals from various industries reported that many organizations are not fully leveraging their physical work environment to enable increased collaboration, innovation and improved work effectiveness. Additionally, the study uncovers the importance of shared knowledge and how the physical environment can impact the free flow and exchange of ideas.

Among those surveyed, 68 percent stated that "talking to people" is the most valuable source of information to support new ideas. However, nearly 40 percent of respondents said that their organization does nothing to stimulate informal interaction in the work environment.

Additionally, the survey revealed that physical comfort plays a key role in the levels of satisfaction and productivity of workers. While 79 percent of respondents believe that physical comfort has a serious impact on worker satisfaction, over half of those surveyed thought their organizations had minimal information regarding the level of satisfaction people have with their physical work environment.

The result: people are often unable to collaborate and share ideas effectively because the physical work environment is not designed to make the most of the social, human and intellectual capital within their organizations. Findings point to a strong need for the office environment to be more conducive to managing and nurturing knowledge so employees can work more effectively and achieve maximum productivity. 

"This latest study uncovers the importance of utilizing the physical environment as an asset to help organizations improve work effectiveness and allow employees to benefit from collective knowledge," said Pam Brenner, manager of workplace issues at Steelcase Inc. "Ultimately, this impacts the business objectives and goals of the organization."

What workers want
Previous Workplace Index surveys conducted by Steelcase reveal what workers want:

• Better lighting. Office workers say poor lighting in the workplace causes irritations which can effect their productivity and creativity levels. Eyestrain and headaches are the most common irritations cited. Experts suggest that organizations pay attention when employees begin to block lighting, take out lamps (bulbs), attach cardboard to a monitor, or bring their own lighting to work.
• More elbow room. Each day, Americans spend an average of 20.1 minutes organizing their work areas. Lack of space may discourage organization. If given a choice on what to upgrade in their work environment, employees would opt for more storage.
• Creative methods for assigning space. While the workplace is becoming more progressive in many respects, most companies still use traditional methods for assigning space. The most popular forms of space allocation are by title and task.
• Personalization. Eighty-five percent of employees personalize their workspaces with items such as photographs, radios, posters, plants and rugs. While the majority of organizations encourage this behavior, many do not. A survey suggested that employees felt discouraged for reasons such as: their company would see this as unprofessional, their company would be concerned about damage to the walls; their company offices adhered to a stringent design scheme; it went against corporate culture; and they did not have a permanent workspace.
• More impromptu meeting space. People are spending more time collaborating and holding impromptu meetings in secondary spaces, such as hallways, enclaves and at water coolers. Workers feel that there is a need for employers to provide a greater range of seating products and conducive meeting areas to support the different positions and work settings they occupy throughout a typical day.
• Home office. Not surprisingly, employees would prefer to work at a home office.