For years, AEC firms and their developer clients have worked under the assumption that a good workplace is effective when it fosters working alone, with others in-person and virtually, learning, and socializing.
These factors are foundational as workplace performance indicators. “But having a good workplace is no longer enough,” states The Gensler Research Institute in its Global Workplace Report 2024, which is based on over 16,000 employee responses to a survey conducted in 15 countries and with 10 client industries. (The survey, conducted from October 2023 to January 2024, did not include fulltime remote workers.)
The report contends that employees are seeking different experiences that go beyond functional and effective office spaces, and now include feeling that the space is beautiful, welcoming, and inspires thinking. Within the office, spaces with the greatest impact on performance are innovation hubs, cafés, outdoor areas, and “focus” rooms. Beyond the building itself, exceptional workplaces leverage their surrounding neighborhoods’ amenities and services.
Gensler’s research shows, however, that many workplaces across industries and countries lag in the quality of their workplace experiences.
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Gensler%20-%20%20working%20alone%20and%20together.png)
High-performing employees have more workplace choices
Gensler’s latest study highlights the shift, in gauging an office’s effectiveness, from real estate occupancy to people-centric performance measures, to assess the design impact on how employees work and feel in the workplace, individually, in teams, and as part of a company.
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Screenshot%202024-05-16%20at%2010.14.54%20AM.png)
The report defines workplace performance as an average of two composite scores that measure how space supports work and how employees feel about that space. Effectiveness measures factors such as function, layout, and so forth; experience measures factors such as beauty and inspirational feelings.
Global office workers spend half of their typical workweeks in the workplace, 20% of their time at home, and 29% in other locations that might include coworking space. Pre-pandemic, this average was closer to 70% of time in the office. “Now, more than ever, the workplace needs to respond to a wider offering of spaces and experiences,” states the report, adding that employees across the world have unique and individual needs within the office.
The report looks closer at how top performing employees are experiencing their workplaces. The report scores the most-engaged individuals on factors such as how energized and happy they feel while working. Employees with the highest engagement score differ from other workers in the amount of time they spend working alone, learning, and socializing. (The report finds that these employees spend just 36% of their time working alone, versus 44% among the least-engaged employees.)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Gensler%20-%20reasons%20for%20coming%20to%20office.png)
Nearly all top performers—96%––also say they have control over how they manage their time, versus half of those working in low-performing offices. Gensler emphasizes that “exceptional” workplaces offer their employees choices about where they work within the office. High-performing workplaces offer greater access to spaces for critical work activities, and overall have more work settings to choose from. This empowers the employees to work at the most effective spaces for their tasks.
It's not all about work, either. More than 90% of employees in high-performing workplaces says the office allows them to occasionally unplug from technology. And these workers also tend to use the office more for socializing and having fun.
Amenities add to workplace’s cache
Two-thirds of the workers surveyed describe their company’s office building as “one of the premium, higher-quality” commercial buildings in their areas. Gensler contends that building quality has a direct relationship to workplace quality: high-performing workplaces are twice as likely to be inside high-quality office buildings. These buildings, as often as not, are located in neighborhoods that offer diverse amenities, services, and alternate workspaces. High-performing workplaces, estimates Gensler, have access to 2.6-times as many amenity spaces on-site and 1.6-times as many amenities and services in the neighborhood. “Access to amenities and services appears to make a particular difference,” Gensler states about such “ecosystems” of spaces and experiences.
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Gensler%20-%20workplace%20experience_0.png)
However, the report also finds that less than one-third of workplaces globally has been redesigned in the last three year, making these workplaces less likely to be able to meet the expectations of young people entering the workforce. “There’s a pressing need for organizations to intentionally rethink office spaces to boost company culture and drive business growth,” says Gensler.
Janet Pogue McLaurin, Gensler’s Global Director of Workplace Research, observes that a great workplace “must not only be a tool to get work done effectively but be intentionally designed for human emotion,” creating experiences that support new ways to work in and outside of the office.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Apr 21, 2015
How to create an 'emotionally intelligent' workplace
Emotional intelligence is the leading predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.
Office Buildings | Apr 8, 2015
Facebook plans to build two more Frank Gehry-designed offices
In addition to office space, Facebook’s development involves a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
Mixed-Use | Apr 7, 2015
$100 billion 'city from scratch' taking shape in Saudi Arabia
The new King Abdullah Economic City was conceived to diversify the kingdom's oil-dependent economy by focusing more in its shipping industry.
Green | Apr 7, 2015
USGBC survey shows Fortune 200 companies prioritize green building
The world’s top-performing companies are prioritizing sustainability as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts, and a majority of them are using LEED to achieve their goals, according to the new survey.
Office Buildings | Apr 1, 2015
Facebook opens Gehry-designed headquarters: ‘The largest open floor plan in the world,’ says Zuckerberg
Employees have started moving into Facebook’s new headquarters, a 435,555-sf building in Menlo Park, Calif., whose famed architect Frank Gehry describes as “unassuming, matter-of-fact, and cost effective.”
Office Buildings | Apr 1, 2015
IBM's supercomputer Watson finds new home in Manhattan's Silicon Alley
The new headquarters for the former Jeopardy champ was conceived as a showcase for Watson’s capabilities, and as an inspirational workspace for Millennials and idea generators of all ages.
Office Buildings | Mar 29, 2015
Chance encounters and the ‘action’ office: Do collisions spark innovation?
Google, Facebook, Samsung, and Tencent have all unveiled plans for “action” offices designed to get their people moving, interacting, huddling, collaborating—all in the name of innovation.
Codes and Standards | Mar 12, 2015
Energy Trust of Oregon offers financial incentives for net-zero buildings
The organization is offering technical assistance along with financial benefits.
BIM and Information Technology | Mar 11, 2015
Google plans to use robots, cranes to manipulate modular offices at its new HQ
Its visions of “crabots” accentuate the search-engine giant’s recent fascination with robotics and automation.
Modular Building | Mar 10, 2015
Must see: 57-story modular skyscraper was completed in 19 days
After erecting the mega prefab tower in Changsha, China, modular builder BSB stated, “three floors in a day is China’s new normal.”