Text: Dr. Martin Kern & Matthias Pink

What workers want

If you could only change one thing about your workplace, what would it be? If your morning and evening commutes spring to mind, then you are in good company. The most popular answer from our representative sample of almost 1,300 office workers (16% of respondents) was a shorter journey to work (see Graph below). Almost the same percentage would like a different boss. However, that lies beyond the scope of this study. Our focus here is on the office environment and our respondents would also like to make some changes in this regard. These particularly include the internal design and fit-out of the workplace (15%), the office location (6%) and the external design of the building (4%).

A dream office increases willingness to commute

Based upon the results of our survey, it is our intention here to illustrate precisely what is important to people in their office workplace environment and which aspects they are dissatisfied with. Not only do we identify some unfulfilled wishes and hence opportunities for improvement for employers, we also demonstrate that the office plays a significant role in the wellbeing of employees. If the destination was their dream office, three quarters of respondents would even accept a longer journey to work (see Graph below), even though many of them would actually like to shorten their commute.

Even the majority of those whose journey to work currently takes 30 minutes or longer would accept an even longer commute. In other words, if their office workplace environment lived up to their vision, most people would be prepared to sacrifice part of their lifetime in return. Could there be a more powerful expression of the importance of the office environment?

The fundamentals of an ideal office environment: clean, quiet, comfortable

What exactly is important to people in their office environment? We presented our respondents with 42 criteria and asked them to assess these (see Graph below). They were almost unanimous on the importance of the office being clean, that the lighting is pleasant, the noise level is low, the air quality and temperature are right and there are no unpleasant odours. Other requirements include a short journey to work, a comfortable workstation and reliable WiFi. Hence, it could be said that, if the basics are not right, it is impossible to create an ideal workplace environment for anybody. With regard to our survey results, for instance, it is highly unlikely that there is a single company whose employees do not universally value cleanliness in their office.

Even a nursing room can be important

It is far more probable that no employees of a company require a baby-changing room. This is only important to 19% of all respondents, making it the lowest ranked of all 42 criteria in the survey. However, only 14% of respondents have a child between 0 and 5 years old. This example illustrates a limitation of our survey. The sample represents the average office workforce in Germany but no company actually has the average workforce. Instead, each company has an office employee structure that deviates from the German average to a greater or lesser extent according to sector, size, etc., with corresponding preferences in terms of the criteria that must be fulfilled in order to create an ideal office environment. Our survey results provide a robust basis for orientation that must be questioned and examined for each individual company.

Office employees are largely satisfied with their office environment, but…

The same is true of the satisfaction expressed in relation to the same 42 criteria (see Graph below). Fundamentally, respondents are mostly satisfied with their office environment. Only in the case of the four criteria ranked lowest in terms of importance (bicycle storage, access to shower and changing facilities, roof terrace and parent/nursing room) are there more dissatisfied than satisfied respondents. There is a large proportion of dissatisfied respondents on other criteria, however, e.g. ‘Food facilities/canteen‘ (33%) and ‘social meeting spaces’ (31%). Of the criteria considered important by almost all respondents, the same is true of ‘Quiet place to work’ (27%) and ‘Noise level’ (21%). These results indicate that most companies have some work to do. It would also be worthwhile for companies to identify those criteria on which they could reduce the dissatisfaction at relatively low expense. In our cross-section, for example, this would include ‘Plants/greenery in the office’ (25% dissatisfied) or (lack of) ability to ‘Receive personal parcels‘ in the office (22% dissatisfied).

Free choice of working location as a milestone towards the dream office?

Some criteria also interact with other aspects. Working from different locations is a particular example, with 35% of respondents dissatisfied in this regard. While this aspect itself is among the less important factors, it is likely to influence satisfaction with regard to most other criteria. To assess it in isolation, therefore, would be insufficient. A more or less free choice of working location would allow all office employees to adapt their working environment to their personal needs as well as to the requirements of their pending work activities. For many companies, this is even likely to be the only way to create an ideal working environment for as many of its employees as possible. The alternative is to design the company office as an all-in-one solution which, at best, financially strong corporations such as Apple can afford and only then at selected company offices.

Those who ask lead the way

In both scenarios, it is worthwhile for companies to enquire as to the preferences and satisfaction of its employees and to involve them in the journey towards the “perfect” office. This is true, not only because the results presented here will not ultimately apply perfectly to any company but also because the very act of involving employees will increase their satisfaction with the workplace. Almost a third of respondents had already been asked by their employer in relation to their working environment and 78% of these indicated that they are generally satisfied with their current workplace environment. Of all other respondents, only half are satisfied (see Graph below). The former are also the more loyal employees. In response to the question of how long they saw themselves remaining with their current employer, the period they indicated was a quarter longer on average. And then there is the issue of bosses, mentioned in the introduction. Ultimately, the workplace environment is embedded in the entire company culture (see “The perfect office”), which is substantially influenced by the superiors. In other words, without the right management, a company is also unlikely to create an ideal workplace environment. If both are right, then employees are prepared to accept long journeys to the office.