Have you ever heard that change is inevitable but growth is optional? No matter how much we might sometimes try to avoid it, change will always come our way. It’s how we respond to that change that shows what we’re truly made of. This applies to every facet of our lives, including our workspaces. Herman Miller’s latest report, How to Catalyze Your Workplace for Growth, expresses the importance of utilizing research about your people and their work to inform your office design, as this becomes a powerful tool for organizational growth. Enter Living Office, a research-based placemaking approach that ignites powerful workplace transformations.
With Living Office, you get to know your people, how they work, and what they need to feel fulfilled. Tie this to your organization’s purpose, character, business strategy, and goals to create a workplace where your people have everything they need to flourish, challenges get resolved, and ideas transform into profitable solutions. From their experiment with 13 organizations around the world, Herman Miller’s research shows that when it comes to creating workplaces that are primed for organizational growth, only personalized, customized, research-based environments work.
If you want people to have a natural, intuitive work experience, the design of the workplace needs to feel natural and intuitive too. Is your office easy to navigate? Does it reflect the unique personality of your organization? Does it engage the senses? Does it bring people together purposefully? Answering “Yes!” to all of these questions is important. Gallup’s State of the American Workplace 2017 report found that 67% of workers in the United States are disengaged at work. Those who are engaged have 17% higher productivity, 20% higher sales, and 21% higher profitability.
It doesn’t matter what size your office is – an efficient workplace is all about using the space you have to create a more seamless workflow for people. Settings can fulfill people’s expectations for interacting informally with co-workers, having impromptu meetings in dedicated spaces, and having conversations without interrupting others. Using spaces purposefully is the name of the game. People are looking for connection – to each other and to a greater sense of purpose. When a workplace fulfills both, people are drawn in and stay.
An inspiring, welcoming workplace is one that people are proud to inhabit and visit. To create an office that serves as a brand billboard, you need to include design elements that are appealing and engaging. By creating a workplace that reflects who you are and what you do, you can build stronger connections between your people and the purpose of their work. You catalyze your workplace for growth. That’s Living Office in action.
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