Workplace Strategy Articles

Some open offices work better because they provide stronger support for privacy, individual space, daylight, personal control, and a more carefully designed physical work environment. That is a more useful conclusion than the usual argument about whether open offices work or not. The real question is why some open offices feel supportive while others create […]

When concentration demands are high, office type matters more; cell offices showed the lowest distraction and cognitive stress, while flex offices reduced part of the strain better than open-plan offices. That is an important correction to a workplace debate that often becomes too simple. Many organisations still talk about office type as if the decision […]

Workplace Principle 4: Increase Adaptability When planning a new and improved workplace, the technological environment is as important as the physical office environment. So when it comes to encouraging employees to make the best decisions at work (also known as increasing adaptability, more on that here), providing seamless tech connections is key.  The 30-second rule […]

Introduction The pandemic has changed a great deal for office workers. Increased flexibility around where work takes place is in and of itself nothing new – nor is working from home an unknown phenomenon. Flexibility in the way we work has long been on the rise, with employees working from home when the type of […]

Discussions about open offices are still often driven by cost, flexibility, and symbolism. The research points to a more demanding reality. When more people share the same office environment, the issue is not only cost efficiency. Job satisfaction and wellbeing can also weaken, which turns office type into a strategic decision rather than a purely […]

JLL’s global guide to office fit-out costs describes a market where cost pressure has not disappeared, even if conditions have stabilised somewhat. The most important lesson for project sponsors is that the budget is shaped early, long before finishes and material selections are fully drawn. Costs are no longer spiralling, but they are not simple […]

Office noise is still often treated as a comfort issue that can be fixed later. That is the wrong frame. New data summarised by OFFICE ROXX suggests that acoustic disturbance affects concentration, stress, and the practical ability to use the office for focused work, which makes acoustics directly relevant to workplace strategy, zoning, and the […]

Individual thermal comfort can be captured better when people express their preferences through short, low-effort dialogue rather than being forced into one shared temperature assumption. That matters in many offices where the temperature debate is still handled as if there were one correct setting for everyone. In practice, preferences vary significantly between people, tasks, and […]

Thermal comfort and energy efficiency can be balanced better when the office combines local comfort control with overall background systems instead of forcing everyone into the same average. That is a central issue in many office projects where energy optimisation and user experience are still treated as competing goals. The result is often an environment […]

An office supports recovery when the environment helps people regain mental distance, coherence, and attention between demanding work episodes, not only when it looks calm. That is an important distinction at a time when many organisations say they want a better work environment but still lack a clear way to assess whether the office actually […]

Office design affects movement mainly by making it easier to interrupt sitting and stand more often, not by automatically making people move more. That distinction matters because many organisations still expect a new office layout to solve sedentary work patterns on its own. An office can be more movement-supportive without producing much more actual movement. […]

Small improvements in noise absorption in open-plan offices can quickly reduce perceived distractions and cognitive stress, which makes acoustics a practical design and workplace decision. That matters for organisations that still treat acoustics as a technical detail to be handled late in the project. Once noise, speech, and interruption problems are already visible in daily […]