Is low morale in corporates due to problems with office design?

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Factors that contribute to a happy career are complex and intertwined. As in other areas of our lives, happiness at work generally equates to reality minus expectations, said Lucy le Roux, marketing manager of Paragon Interiors.

"Employee expectations globally are on the rise. Paragon follows international research on workplace trends and has found that there has been a shift in employer/employee relationships from one of loyalty to one of partnership. Research shows that the top factor in employees being passionate about their companies and engaging in their work, is them believing that senior management is sincerely interested in their wellbeing. The workplace environment sends a powerful message as to whether or not this is the case," said Le Roux.

Key concerns relating to organisational climate

Mutual caring and respect

Employees are looking for companies whose goals and values align with their own goals. People want to work at organisations where there is mutual caring and respect. Before they can buy into management's values and goals, employees need to know what these are. Surprisingly, some studies show that most staff do not know what goals their company is even trying to accomplish.

According to a survey of 23,000 employees conducted by Harris Interactive in the US in 2012, only 37% of employees understood what their employer was trying to achieve and why. "Office design can play a significant role in improving communication in this area. Physical space serves as a powerful daily platform to showcase company goals and successes, and to create a greater meaning behind the work that employees perform on a day to day basis," she said.

"Another impact on morale is the comfort of the daily working environment as well as whether the space encourages a sense of community amongst staff. While design plays a large role here, the way that staff work within the space can sometimes be a larger determinant. Staff need to be educated on appropriate open-plan office behaviour and how to foster a culture around productivity," said Jenny Seddon, Design Director of Paragon Interiors.

"It's about being considerate of the fact that although you may want to be sociable in the office, someone else at the office may be working on a time-pressured focused task. If the people around you constantly disrupt you from getting your work done, then this breaks down positive relationships between colleagues," said Seddon.

Disruption at the office

"According to research, we are spending around one-quarter of our day experiencing disruption at the office. This really amps up employee stress levels and affects morale. Many people have accepted that this is just the nature of work and this is normal. Paragon Interiors has proven that the status quo can be improved. Office design can either facilitate or hamper productivity, internal communications and morale."

Other factors important to staff, identified from ongoing research, is the need for quiet areas for focused work, private areas to make phone calls, a dedicated place to eat, low noise levels, minimal glare, natural light, and minimal flow of staff walking past people's desks. These are office design issues.

In further research conducted by Paragon on input from staff before and after a new office design was implemented, we found that 78% of staff said the new design was aiding the company's external corporate image, an increase from just one-third of staff before the change.

Prior to the move, 67% of employees said the design of the old office space had a negative effect on the ability for staff to be productive; 56% said the new design contributed to improving productivity; and 44% indicated that the new design was positively effecting employee happiness and the organisation's ability to attract staff, double the number than before the move.

The new design also showed a significant improvement in employee satisfaction regarding the distraction caused by people walking past their desks, improving from 44% to 88%. The research also showed an improvement in comfort levels in terms of the amount of natural light (67% to 88%) and informal meeting areas (33% to 89%).