Workspace design firm Unispace says the solution to a productive workforce is a customised office environment. But is that enough?

A report from Unispace, a workspace design firm, has found that the majority of employees (80%) find office spaces distracting and uncomfortable. However, after years of shifts in workplace use, from in-person to hybrid, the study finds employees still see the value in office spaces, with 48% saying the desk is the most important workplace zone. 

After surveying over 5,000 employees from 14 different markets, the study found that while 93% of employees believe the office will still be needed, 75% of them say noise and distraction in the workplace hinder their performance. 

Unispace claims improving office conditions is the key to increasing office attendance and productivity. Rob Frank, CEO, promotes the "three Cs" for employee satisfaction in the workplace. "The message is consistent across Europe: give people calm, comfortable, customised spaces and they will deliver. If the workplace isn’t working, your people aren’t reaching their full potential and productivity is at risk." 

"Many workspaces are geared towards visibility and supervision rather than collaboration or creativity" 

Frank argues that, more than productivity, employees' mental health and social skills are also at risk, and making office spaces more welcoming for employees will benefit both productivity and employee well-being. However, many believe hybrid or remote work arrangements actually improve productivity amongst workers. 

Shiyu Yuan, research assistant at King's Global Institute for Women's Leadership, spoke on the effects remote and hybrid work have on workers and the companies they work for, and why many are refusing return-to-office (RTO) mandates for this. 

Yuan agrees office setups can cause distractions among workers, leading to lack of focus in employees, yet says this issue isn’t only about physical comfort. She points out that many workspaces are geared towards visibility and supervision rather than collaboration or creativity. "A well-designed workplace can support collaboration, but too often offices are structured around monitoring rather than genuine teamwork.

"For many, returning to such environments represents lost time and unnecessary stress rather than engagement.” 

"Employees aren’t refusing work, they’re refusing unnecessary rigidity"

While Yuan agrees that the workplace environment is a key factor as to why workers are refusing RTO mandates, she also highlights the lack of work-life balance that pushes workers away from the office. This trend indicates that office spaces not only need comfort and customisation, but a change in the systems that allows workers flexibility, something remote and hybrid work allows. 

"For many, remote and hybrid work support mental health because it allows them to balance personal responsibilities and manage health or medical appointments while continuing to work effectively," Yuan says. 

These RTO mandates have the potential to affect the wellbeing of employees by making them feel unsupported in a workspace that's not made for them. "Employees aren’t refusing work, they’re refusing unnecessary rigidity, especially being required to return five days a week." 

For many employees, the possibility of remote and hybrid work must remain an option in order to make the office a more calm, comfortable and customisable space.