IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2016 - 18

The pursuit of happiness is not put on hold at the doors of an office.
While paychecks and benefits are still king and queen, they are no
longer enough. Employees want it all.
This rallying cry for happiness in the workplace has precipitated new
expectations for what an office environment should look like. According
to the Staples Business Advantage Workplace Index 2016, 43 percent of
the 3,105 U.S. and Canadian workers surveyed said they would like to see
more attention paid to workplace design. And only 16 percent found their
workplace design inspiring. In response, a new pattern language of design has
emerged that focuses on the holistic needs of an employee's mind, body, and
soul. Foosball tables and booze carts no longer suffice.
"People spend a significant amount of their times in the workplace, and
employers want them to be productive," says Seth Hanley, principal and cofounder, Blitz Architecture + Interiors, San Francisco, California, USA. "I think
the more we can do through design, and plan in advance for employee comfort and
happiness, the more likely employees are to want to be there and the more likely they
are to be productive while they are there."
For organizations willing to make the investment, there's a distinct bottom-line
benefit, as employees who are more satisfied with their personal workplace are less likely
to quit, more engaged, have higher job satisfaction, make better co-workers, and show
more support for corporate goals, according to the 2016 IIDA Design Leveraged report.
Although more companies acknowledge the role that design plays in improving employees'
well-being, they aren't always willing to make a significant monetary investment to better their
organizations. To get them on board, designers must make sound arguments on the return on
investment that a workplace centered on employee needs, health, and wellness provides.

One of the first questions clients raise when considering employee-conscious design is, "Is this
just a fad?" Is it more for the Googles, Twitters, and startups of the world?
The answer, of course, is no.
More mainstream companies are realizing that. A survey by RAND Corp. valued the workplace wellness industry
at $6 billion.
Designers must get their clients to stop thinking about this trend as gimmicky office design full of slides and
beanbag chairs (we're looking at you, Silicon Valley). Instead, they must get them to associate it with the likes of
LEED. After all, it was only 10 years ago that all the press and debate buzzed around sustainability. Now LEED is
standard, and nearly 1.85 million square feet (171,870 square meters) are certified daily.
Designing for employee happiness is following suit.
"I see this whole movement as the intersection of sustainability and workplace strategy. It's about how design
can empower workers," says Jennifer Busch, Hon. IIDA, vice president of architecture and design at international
workplace furnishings designer Teknion. "Design doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's always in response to larger
social, political, and demographic trends. This notion of health and well-being in the workplace is rooted in the
larger societal movement of farm to table, eating organic, walkable neighborhoods, and social interaction."
To make the case, she recommends pulling together a digital package of relevant research and case studies.
"The whole idea of workplace strategy has moved from industry publications to The New York Times, Fast
Company, [and] Huffington Post," she says.
It can also help to play the competition card. "Everybody wants to know what everyone else is doing," says
Stephanie Douglass, director of workplace strategy at Teknion, Washington, D.C., USA. "And it can be helpful
to show them in an effort to illustrate that others-especially if it's their competitors-are already here, and that
truthfully, it is time for them to catch up."
Showrooms are one way to illustrate this point. As was the case with the early days of LEED, discussion around
workplace well-being has so far been open and transparent, with companies sharing research and information in an

perspective

iida.org/perspective

Photos by: (previous page) eurobanks; (top) Jeff Wojtaszek

Selling Happiness

http://www.iida.org/perspective

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2016