flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Ability to focus, not perks, is top concern for office employees

Office Buildings

Ability to focus, not perks, is top concern for office employees

Open-plan offices found to worsen distraction problem.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | June 16, 2016
Ability to focus, not perks, is top concern for office employees

Open concept meeting space in an office in Redmond, Wash. Photo: Wonderlane/Creative Commons.

Employees’ top priority in an office environment is to be able to focus without interruptions, according to research by Oxford Economics.

A global survey of more than 1,200 senior executives and non-management employees found that employees want office designs to foster the ability to concentrate, more than any other factor.  Amenities like free food, for instance, are far less important, the research shows.

Managers and employees have much different views on this issue. Nearly two-thirds of executives say employees are equipped with the tools they need to deal with distractions at work; but less than half of employees agree with that notion.

The research suggests that the growing popularity of open-plan offices comes with a cost: Difficulty for many employees to get their work done without distractions. In addition, most managers do not have the technology or strategies in place to deal with these problems.

Related Stories

Office Buildings | Jan 14, 2020

The workplace should be a tool for improving employee engagement

A survey of 1,600 North American workers hints at what workplace elements have the greatest impact.

Office Buildings | Jan 9, 2020

NFL’s Packers and Microsoft add an innovation center to a fledgling business district

The goal is to nurture startups aligned with local industries.

Office Buildings | Jan 9, 2020

Foster + Partners to design Alibaba’s new offices in Shanghai

The firm won a design competition for the project.

Sponsored | HVAC | Jan 6, 2020

Four Ways Building Systems Create Long-term Profitability

When accounting for the total cost of ownership and the potential return on investment, owners and developers should consider total energy usage, the lifespan of building systems equipment, the recruitment and retention of occupants, and lease rates.

Office Buildings | Oct 28, 2019

LEGO opens the first phase of its new Billund, Denmark campus

C.F. Møller Architects designed the project.

Office Buildings | Oct 17, 2019

New social campus for innovators, tech leaders covers a full city block

Hollwich Kushner, with Gensler as design development architects, designed the building.

Office Buildings | Oct 15, 2019

New 80,000-sf coworking space completes in Chicago

It is the third ‘Spaces’ location in Chicago.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


MFPRO+ News

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021