DESIGN & INTERIORS
THE WORKPLACE PRIVACY CRISIS
Melanie Redman, Senior Researcher for Steelcase’s Workspace Futures Group shares her expertise on employees’ need for space in the workplace and why open plan is not always the answer.
Employee engagement is a key driver of organisational success, with studies showing that engaged employees are more productive, innovative and loyal. Yet, despite the enormous benefits, most UK organisations are failing to achieve the full potential of their workforce, reporting amongst the lowest levels of engagement in the world. A recent Steelcase-sponsored survey by the independent research firm IPSOS found that just 29% of UK workers are engaged, compared to 34% globally.
The signals are stronger than ever that many high-potential employees are chronically disengaged at work. Unmotivated, unproductive and overly stressed, they have little capacity to think creatively, collaborate successfully and generate the innovative solutions that organisations desire. And although the negative bottom-line impact of disengagement has been well documented, few organisations can identify the factors that positively
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affect employee engagement, and even fewer know how to improve it.
Now, Steelcase research has shed light on one often overlooked issue – employees’ need for privacy. The UK has the highest proportion of open plan offices in the world and lack of privacy is workers’ number- one complaint. The imbalance between collaboration and privacy at many offices has reached crisis proportions, with the result that 43% of employees say they can’t concentrate easily and 50% report an inability to work without interruption. The truth is that office workers need private places to focus and rejuvenate, not just areas that support group work.
Steelcase’s ongoing research and work with leading companies shows time and again that privacy and collaboration must coexist in the workplace. Collaboration remains essential for driving innovation, and the need for togetherness is as compelling
as the need for times of privacy. But the key is to achieve a balance, providing workers with the ability to choose a work setting based on their individual needs at any given time.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF CONTROL In its study with IPSOS, Steelcase found a clear correlation between employee satisfaction with the work environment and the level of engagement. The most engaged workers are the most satisfied with their work environment (31%), while the least engaged are the most dissatisfied with their environment (69%).
But crucially, the study also found a link between engagement and control, with engaged employees reporting greater control over where and how they work, including access to privacy when they need it. These workers are empowered by the spaces available to them in the workplace, to make choices about
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