2013 U.S.

WORKPLACE
SURVEY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Gensler’s 2013 U.S. Workplace Survey represents responses from 2,035

randomly sampled knowledge workers nationwide. The study examines the
design factors that create an effective workplace; how design can better
support knowledge worker engagement, satisfaction, and performance;
and the influence of the workplace on organizational culture. The U.S.
workforce is struggling to work effectively, fostering dissatisfaction
and stifling creativity and innovation. Our research directly compares
today's workplace with the workplace of 2008 and identifies design
strategies for how organizations can jump the trend and use better
workplace design to drive innovation, improve performance, and increase
satisfaction in the context of 2013 working realities.
INTRODUCTION KEY FINDINGS

Forces from technology to globalization to a new generation of ONE

workers are leading fundamental changes to where, how, and when
today’s knowledge workers perform their jobs. The confluence of U.S. WORKERS ARE
these forces is resulting in new performance drivers for today’s
workplace and a series of new and exciting questions about what
STRUGGLING TO
the workplace is—and more importantly—what it should be. WORK EFFECTIVELY.
Gensler's 2013 survey represents the most recent iteration
A CONFLUENCE OF FACTORS—FROM
of ongoing research on the connection between workplace ECONOMIC CHALLENGES TO LONGER
design and performance. Our last survey took place in 2008, WORKDAYS—ARE COMPROMISING
just prior to the worst economic downturn since the Great THE ABILITY TO GET WORK DONE.
Depression with a U.S. unemployment rate of 5.7%. We stood
at the cusp of a technological revolution of communication and
information-sharing. Twitter had just launched and Facebook TWO

had less than 100 million users. The iPhone hadn’t celebrated EFFECTIVE
WORKPLACES
its first birthday and the Millennials now entering offices
across the U.S. were celebrating their Sweet Sixteens.

It goes without saying, the world in 2013 is a different place. BALANCE FOCUS AND
Technological innovation has revolutionized how we create,
share and communicate. Today's world is connected like never
COLLABORATION.
before, but new connections mean new distractions and for many WORKPLACES DESIGNED TO ENABLE
a compromised ability to focus. Globalization and urbanization COLLABORATION WITHOUT
continue to shift the business landscape. Seventy-five percent of SACRIFICING EMPLOYEES' ABILITY TO
the world's population is expected to live in cities by 2050 and FOCUS ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL.
over four-fifths of Americans live in cities today. Urban areas are
increasingly understood as drivers of economic growth, culture and
innovation, resulting in new demands and constraints on space. THREE

Seen in 2013, workplace performance exists not only in conjunction

CHOICE DRIVES
with business success but with the character, form and success of
our cities. We increasingly see the workplace not as the sole location
PERFORMANCE AND
for work, but as the vital connection among myriad locations in INNOVATION.
which work happens. From desks and meeting rooms to co-work
EMPLOYERS WHO PROVIDE A SPECTRUM
spaces, airports and hotels, today's knowledge work happens
not just at the scale of people and offices, but at the scale of
OF CHOICES FOR WHEN AND WHERE TO
buildings, cities and ultimately the globe. It is in this context that WORK ARE SEEN AS MORE INNOVATIVE AND
we continue to explore questions of focus, balance and choice in HAVE HIGHER-PERFORMING EMPLOYEES.
today's, and tomorrow's, high-performance work environments.

GENSLER'S WORKPLACE RESEARCH TIMELINE

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

U.K. Workplace U.S. Workplace Workplace U.S. + U.K. WPI growth and Workplace New U.S.
Survey Survey Performance Workplace refinement: new Performance Workplace
Index developed Survey modules added, Index hits Survey
8 languages,
11 industries,
100,000
respondents
trademarked

2013 U.S.
WORKPLACE
SURVEY

2
THE FOUR WORK MODES THE WORKPLACE
PERFORMANCE INDEX™

Gensler's 2008 Workplace Survey established four work
modes that serve as a lens to understand today's knowledge
workplace. By understanding employees' work as time
spent focusing, collaborating, learning,and socializing,
companies can better support the myriad drivers of
success in today's knowledge economy. Companies
that value and support all four work modes are higher-
performing and have more satisfied, effective employees.
Gensler created the Workplace Performance Index
(WPI) to help clients understand specifically what
comprises space effectiveness in their workplaces so
that design solutions can be highly targeted. The WPI
is a web-enabled pre- and post-occupancy evaluation
tool that measures the effectiveness of work space.
In 2012, Gensler’s WPI database surpassed 100,000
respondents representing some of the most admired
companies in the world. The scope of the database
allows for ongoing analysis that has illuminated the
declining effectiveness of workplaces to support focus
work. These analyses led to the key goals of Gensler’s
2013 U.S. Workplace Survey: to better understand the
importance of focus in the workplace and how best
to support that activity, and to understand how work
and the workplace have changed in recent years.

THE FOUR WORK MODES

FOCUS
WORK INVOLVING
CONCENTRATION
AND ATTENTION SOCIALIZE
TO A PARTICULAR WORK INTERACTIONS THAT CREATE
TASK OR PROJECT COMMON BONDS AND VALUES,
COLLECTIVE IDENTITY, COLLEGIALITY,
AND PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS

COLLABORATE
WORKING WITH ANOTHER PERSON
OR GROUP TO ACHIEVE A GOAL

LEARN
WORKING TO ACQUIRE
NEW KNOWLEDGE OF A
SUBJECT OR SKILL THROUGH
EDUCATION OR EXPERIENCE

3
KEY FINDING ONE

U.S. WORKERS ARE

STRUGGLING TO WORK
EFFECTIVELY.
EXTENDED WORK DAYS, NEW DISTRACTIONS AND DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON REAL ESTATE COSTS
ARE COMPROMISING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE U.S. WORKPLACE. STRATEGIES IN PURSUIT OF
COLLABORATION – OPEN WORKPLACES, LOW- OR NO-PANEL DESKS – PROVED INEFFECTIVE IF THE
ABILITY TO FOCUS WAS NOT ALSO CONSIDERED. WHEN FOCUS IS COMPROMISED IN PURSUIT OF
COLLABORATION, NEITHER WORKS WELL.

Overall workplace performance has dropped 6% as measured
by aggregate WPI scores for Gensler's 2008 and 2013 survey
respondents. The overall decrease in the effectiveness of
focus work as ranked by employees drove this decline.
Survey results show focus as a key effectiveness driver—
those who can focus are more satisfied, higher performing,
and see their companies as more innovative (Figure 1).
Interestingly, this pairs with a shift in how employees report
spending their time: Despite many workplaces designed
expressly to support collaboration, time spent collaborating
has decreased by 20%, while time spent focusing has
increased by 13% (Figure 2). This may be attributed to
longer work days overall. Declining focus effectiveness may
also result in longer hours required to complete tasks.

Figure 1 100%
Employees Who
Can Focus are More 80%
+88%
Effective, Higher-
Performing Overall 60%
+57%
Percentage improvement
40% +42%
between respondents +31%
+31%
who report high focus
effectiveness and those who 20%
report low effectiveness. +14%
0%
COLLABORATION LEARNING SOCIALIZING JOB JOB MORE
EFFECTIVENESS EFFECTIVENESS EFFECTIVENESS SATISFACTION PERFORMANCE INNOVATIVE

Figure 2 54%
Knowledge 48%
Workers are
Focusing More,
Collaborating Less
30%
Represents percentage 24%
of average work week.
Time not accounted for
in these percentages
was listed as "other." 8%
6% 5% 6%

2008
2013 FOCUS COLLABORATE LEARN SOCIALIZE

4
KEY FINDING TWO

EFFECTIVE WORKPLACES
BALANCE FOCUS AND
COLLABORATION.
WHILE INDIVIDUAL FOCUS AND COLLABORATIVE WORK ARE OFTEN THOUGHT TO BE OPPOSITES, OUR
RESEARCH DEMONSTRATES THAT THEY FUNCTION BEST AS COMPLEMENTS. ULTIMATELY, WORKPLACES
DESIGNED TO ENABLE COLLABORATION WITHOUT SACRIFICING EMPLOYEES' ABILITY TO FOCUS ARE
MORE SUCCESSFUL.

In all, 24% of respondents report that their workplaces
communicate that their companies value both individual
and collaborative work, referred to below as "balanced
workplaces." These employees indicate that their spaces
are 21% more effective for focus and 20% more effective
for collaboration than those in workplaces that do not
effectively support both focus and collaborative work.
These respondents also see their companies as 29%
more innovative and are 36% more satisfied with their
jobs. They are 34% more satisfied with their workplace
environments, and their workplaces are 23% more
effective overall as measured by Gensler’s WPI (Figure
3). These respondents are also more likely to rank their
companies highly on a number of individual factors
critical to creativity and innovation (Figure 4).

Figure 3
40%
Effectively
Balancing Focus +36% +34%
and Collaboration +29%
Improves Performance
+21% +23%
Percentage improvement 20% +20%
between balanced and
unbalanced workplaces.

0%
FOCUS COLLABORATION MORE JOB OVERALL WPI
EFFECTIVENESS EFFECTIVENESS INNOVATIVE SATISFACTION ENVIRONMENT SCORE

Figure 4 78%
Balanced Workplaces 72% 74% 73% 74%
Are More Creative,
More Innovative 52%
46% 45%
Percentage of employees who 40% 40%
rank their company highly.

CREATES CLIMATE HAS CREATIVE LEADERSHIP ENCOURAGES HAS CLEAR

Not Balanced OF INNOVATION THINKERS ENCOURAGES BREAKTHROUGH STRATEGY FOR
Balanced INNOVATION IDEAS INNOVATION

5
KEY FINDING THREE

CHOICE DRIVES
PERFORMANCE AND
INNOVATION.
ENABLING CHOICE WITH THE RIGHT ALIGNMENT OF TOOLS, POLICIES, AND SPACES IS AN OPPORTUNITY
FOR COMPANIES TO CREATE A CLIMATE IN WHICH AUTONOMOUS, ENGAGED EMPLOYEES CAN MAKE
MEANINGFUL DECISIONS TO MAXIMIZE THEIR INDIVIDUAL JOB PERFORMANCE. EMPLOYERS WHO
PROVIDE A SPECTRUM OF CHOICES FOR WHEN AND WHERE TO WORK ARE SEEN AS MORE INNOVATIVE
AND HAVE HIGHER-PERFORMING EMPLOYEES.

Employers who offer choice in when and where to work
have workers who are 12% more satisfied with their jobs
and report higher effectiveness scores across all four work
modes (Figure 5). Their employees are more likely to see
their workplaces as balanced, more likely to rank their
companies as innovative, and more likely to be satisfied
with their jobs, and are higher-performing (Figure 6).
Employees without choice report organizational policy
as the primary limit to their workplace autonomy and are
also less likely to have tools that support mobility and
"anywhere" working. Employees with choice are more likely
to make decisions based on a need to connect to people
and resources. Increasing choice doesn’t mean everyone is
working from home—respondents with choice still spend
the vast majority (70%) of their time in office settings.

Figure 5 8.0 +7%

Employees
With Choice are
More Effective 7.5 +4%
+3%
As ranked on a
10-point scale where
7.0 +5%
10="most effective."
6.5

6.0

Employees Without Choice FOCUS COLLABORATION LEARNING SOCIALIZING

Employees With Choice Effectiveness Effectiveness Effectiveness Effectiveness

Figure 6
Choice Improves 30%

the Employee +25%

Experience
20% +20%
Percentage more likely
to rank workplace highly +15%
for those with choice vs.
those without choice 10%
+7%

0%
INNOVATION JOB JOB WORKPLACE
PERFORMANCE SATISFACTION SATISFACTION

6
THE OPPORTUNITY

Our research points to a number of spatial and strategic

actions companies can take to design workplaces that
improve the employee experience, enhance performance,
and drive innovation and success.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

PROVIDE EFFECTIVE
FOCUS SPACE
The effectiveness of focus space
strongly correlates to myriad
workplace performance factors,
driving variables from collaboration
effectiveness to satisfaction and
overall workplace performance.
Effective workplaces must first
and foremost provide locations for
employees to get heads-down focus
work done. These design solutions
may vary based on company culture,
work processes, and individual work
styles. What must remain constant is
a commitment to the importance of
and providing spaces for focus work.
COLLABORATE
WITHOUT
SACRIFICING FOCUS
Balanced workplaces drive
performance, both organizational
and individual. Across industries, we
found that workplaces prioritizing
both focus and collaboration—
not one at the expense of the
other—score higher on measures of
satisfaction, innovation, effectiveness,
and performance than offices
that prioritized one work mode
over another. A workplace with
the optimal mix of settings that
support focus work and collaborative
work alongside learning and
socializing will better empower
employees to thrive in the office.
DRIVE INNOVATION
THROUGH CHOICE
Employees with choice in when
and where to work rank their own
performances higher, are more
satisfied with their workplaces, and
can focus more effectively. Providing
employees with the tools that allow
for choice—mobile technology,
wireless throughout the office,
and access to files/networks from
outside the office—is the first step.
Companies must then ensure that
employees are not only able, but
empowered to choose the optimal
settings for when and where to
work and provide a range of spaces
that allow employees to leverage
choice for optimal productivity.

7
RESEARCH FOUNDATION METHODOLOGY
DESIGN + BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Gensler's 2013 survey represents the most recent iteration
of ongoing research on the workplace, which began in 2005
with Gensler’s first workplace survey. A survey in 2006
established the connections between workplace design,
employee productivity, and business competitiveness. In
2008, our research established a framework for understanding
knowledge work through the lens of the four "work modes:"
focus, collaboration, learning, and socializing (see next
page). The effectiveness and support of all four work modes
connect to employee satisfaction and company performance.
Gensler's 2013 U.S. Workplace Survey continues this
thread to take the pulse of the American workplace as it
relates to employee effectiveness, business performance,
and opportunities to create and advance a culture of
innovation. Parallel questions allow for direct comparison
with data collected through Gensler's 2008 survey. This
puts our findings in the context of fundamental work and
life shifts over that time period and points to solutions for
how to realign today's workplace with today's world.
This survey represents data collected via an online survey
conducted among a random sample of 2,035 respondents
representing a broad cross section of demographics,
including education, age, gender, and location. Respondents
include knowledge workers who work in an office some
or all of the time within ten industry segments. Gensler
retained The Futures Company to conduct the survey;
Precision Consulting conducted statistical analysis.
Survey questions include those from Gensler’s Workplace
Performance Index™ (WPI), which specifically measures the
effectiveness, criticality, and time spent in the workplace
across four modes of work: focus, collaboration, learning,
and socializing. The WPI also benchmarks the performance
of the physical work environment through an evaluation
of 28 design factors. In addition to these core questions,
which allow for comparisons across Gensler’s WPI dataset
beginning in 2007, the 2013 survey asks respondents to
rank their work spaces and companies across a variety
of experiential and performance factors including
innovation, motivation, choice, and technology, as well
as individual patterns of behavior and preferences.

OFFICE TIME* EDUCATION GENDER AGE

Graduate College
0-49% 50-74% Degree Degree Female 55+ 18–34
15% 14% 37% 43% 51.5% 23% 26%

100% 75-99% High School Some Male 45–54 35–44

35% 36% or less College 48.5% 27% 24%
4% 16%
* Percentage of time spent in office
during an average work week

Survey data represents 2,035 respondents with statistically significant samples from ten industry
sectors including banking/financial/insurance, consumer products/retail/manufacturing, legal, media/
www.gensler.com entertainment/creative services, consulting/accounting/business services, bio-tech/pharmaceuticals,
government, not-for-profit/associations, energy, and technology/internet/telecommunications.