Turning offices into happy and creative spaces

Work used to be driven by efficiency with intentionally linear process, divided into parts in which people could specialise. However, the problems we face today are so much more complex – they require creative thinking and a very different work process in which people and ideas diverge, converge and iterate.

In dense cities like Singapore, with limited office space and surging rent prices, it is critical for organisations to rethink workplaces to drive innovation by approaching technology and space holistically, rather than considering them as separate entities. The lack of cohesion creates sub-optimal conditions for fostering creativity at work.

A research by Steelcase, provider of office furniture and innovative workspace solutions, revealed that while people feel more pressure to produce creative work, the conditions for creativity are suboptimal in most workplaces.

According to the survey, it is found that 72 percent of people at work today believe their future success depends on their ability to be creative. People need a new set of creative tools—places and technologies— that are designed to support the different stages of the creative process, which do not exist in many companies today.

To address this concern, Steelcase has joined forces with Microsoft Corp to unveil a new 5,100 square foot Steelcase WorkLife Center in Singapore. Located at Mohamad Sultan Road, the first of its kind center in Southeast Asia features Creative Spaces – a collection of technology- enabled work spaces specifically designed to help organisations foster creative thinking and better collaboration.

“Creative Spaces can be designed and personalised for every industry and demographic, especially in today’s context where you can find four different generations working together in the same workplace. For example, survey shows that lounge spaces are used by millennials as a place for privacy while older generations use these spaces socially,” said Cherry Wan, Director, Brand Communications Asia Pacific at Steelcase, in an interview with Networks Asia.

Comprising five distinctly different spaces, each creative space is intentionally designed to support the needs of individuals and teams as they move through the different stages and activities of the creative process. They have been developed in response to new research commissioned by Steelcase and Microsoft into employee attitudes and engagement at work across the globe. The study found that while 54% believe their employer cares about them, only 13% of global workers are highly engaged and highly satisfied with their workplace. The findings correspond with a recent ‘Job Happiness Index’ survey: 45% of workers in Singapore are unhappy at work with low job satisfaction and workplace flexibility cited as some of the main factors.

The Steelcase research further revealed that open plan offices only make up a global average of 23%, and that only 33% of global employees now work in open spaces in assigned workstations. Meantime, about half of all global workers can now, at least sometimes, work remotely (45%).

The report shows that workers are unsurprisingly technology traditionalists on the job, mostly desk-bound with desktop computers (80%) and landline telephones (86%). This can make it difficult for employees to engage in creative work, that requires a rapid transition between diverse modes of work. Alarmingly, only a global average of 35% have relatively easy access to videoconferencing, a stark contrast to the highest in the world, India, with 58%.

Five Creative Spaces are on display now at the Steelcase WorkLife Center in Singapore.

The spaces include:

Focus Studio: Individual creative work requires alone time to focus and get into flow, while also allowing quick shifts to two-person collaboration. This is a place to let ideas incubate before sharing them with a large group, perfect for focused work with Microsoft Surface Book or Surface Pro 4.

Duo Studio: Working in pairs is an essential behaviour of creativity. This space enables two people to co-create shoulder-to-shoulder, while also supporting individual work with Microsoft Surface Studio. It includes a lounge area to invite others in for a quick creative review with Surface Hub or to put your feet up and get away without going away.

Ideation Hub: A high-tech destination that encourages active participation and equal opportunity to contribute as people co-create, refine and share ideas with co-located or distributed teammates on Microsoft Surface Hub.

Maker Commons: Socializing ideas and rapid prototyping are essential parts of creativity. This space is designed to encourage quick switching between conversation, experimentation and concentration, ideal for a mix of Surface devices, such as Surface Hub and Surface Book.

Respite Room: Creative work requires many brain states, including the need to balance active group work with solitude and individual think time. This truly private room allows relaxed postures to support diffused attention.

‘Creativity is the new productivity’

In addition to the rapidly changing workplace, people are desperately seeking spaces to escape the monotony of their day, according to Wan. “Just as open concept and hotdesking was perhaps a solution in the past, Creative Spaces is the new solution for creating places where people want to work.”

Employee satisfaction is correlated to their attitude and engagement at work, adds Wan, noting that companies that invest in employees’ technological, cultural, and physical work environments have more than four times the average profit and more than two times the average revenue compared to companies that don’t.

As the digital revolution gains momentum, businesses must imagine and prepare for what the impact may be, according to Wan.

“It is predicted that 40% of today’s Fortune 500 companies will disappear within the next 10 years, hence, businesses must build an organisation “of the future” for the company to better sustain. It is also critical for attracting and retaining talent, with working in a conducive workspace being an important factor for many employees,” said Wan. “Therefore, design should be considered as one of the fundamental needs of an office.”

To retrofit the existing workspaces, Steelcase needs to understand the culture of the company, work style and work pattern. Through workplace surveys, Steelcase can gather insights on employees’ needs and understand the work flow better. “Through observation, we are also able to ascertain how people work best in the environment. After that, we will work with a design firm and our customers to recommend how to best retrofit the existing workspaces,” explained Wan. “We are unable to indicate a specific cost as it depends on the company size and what their needs are.”

Studies have shown “impressive” correlation between employee engagement and customer satisfaction, according to Wan. “Results indicated that organisational commitment has a more persistent influence on performance at the business unit level than vice versa. Consistent with prior research, this suggests that job attitudes may come first, and that practitioners might be well advised to aim to improve job attitudes to boost performance. Hence, the ROI can be measured in employee happiness, satisfaction, and turnover.”