How Office Layouts Shape Productivity | Workspace Design Lab Ep. 10

Are modern offices actually designed for how we work today, or are we still operating inside outdated ideas?

In this episode of Workspace Design Lab, host Sylvanna VanderPark explores the evolution of workspace design, from ancient Roman offices to Taylorism, cubicle farms, open plan offices, and today’s hybrid environments. Through research, neuroscience insights, and real world observations, she unpacks why so many beautiful workspaces quietly drain productivity, creativity, and wellbeing. This episode is essential listening for architects, interior designers, facility managers, and business leaders who want to design ergonomic, human-centered, and sustainable workspaces that truly perform.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Workspace design evolved from Roman tablet in a room to industrial grids, cubicles, and today’s hybrid layouts
• Taylorism shaped rigid factory like office grids focused on maximum output
• Open plan offices reduce face to face interaction and increase messaging because people seek privacy
• Noise and visual interruptions are the number one productivity killer in open offices
• Moderate background noise around 70 DB can boost creativity
• Natural light boosts productivity, mood, and even nighttime sleep quality
• High ceilings encourage abstract thinking, lower ceilings improve focus and detail work
• Plants can increase productivity by up to about 15% and reduce stress
• Giving employees control over where they sit improves satisfaction more than flashy perks
• If people are constantly adapting themselves to the space, the space is failing

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 - Coming up...
00:01:00 - Why workspace design history matters more than you think
00:04:14 - Cubicle farms, tax incentives, and corporate expansion
00:06:06 - How your brain reacts to light, ceilings, plants, and noise
00:09:22 - Home office design mistakes you may not realize you are making
00:12:37 - Why open offices reduce face-to-face interaction
00:19:16 - Corporate workspace mistakes that kill productivity
00:22:38 - The mistake proof workspace design checklist
00:25:40 - Final red flags and the golden rule of workspace design

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Chapters

• 0:00 Coming up...
• 1:00 Why workspace design history matters more than you think
• 4:14 Cubicle farms, tax incentives, and corporate expansion
• 6:06 How your brain reacts to light, ceilings, plants, and noise
• 9:22 Home office design mistakes you may not realize you are making
• 12:37 Why open offices reduce face-to-face interaction
• 19:52 Corporate workspace mistakes that kill productivity
• 23:14 The mistake proof workspace design checklist
• 26:16 Final red flags and the golden rule of workspace design

Transcript

0:00

Hey. I'm Silvana Vander Park. We talk a lot about productivity, collaboration and the future of work. Here is the uncomfortable truth. Most workspaces are still designed for how people used to work, not how they actually work today. In this episode, I'm pulling back the lens on workspace design where it began, how we ended up with cubicle farms and open offices that don't actually work, and why so many, quote, beautiful spaces quietly drain, focus, creativity and well-being. We'll explore what neuroscience, behavior and real world experience tell us about light noise, layout, movement, choice, and why copying trendy office setups without understanding human behavior is one of the biggest mistakes companies and individuals keep making. If you've ever felt distracted, exhausted, boxed in or oddly unproductive in a space that looks great on paper, this conversation will explain why and what to do instead. I'm Silvana Vander Park, and this is Workspace Design Lab. Hey, today I'm going to talk a little bit about the history of workspace design. I started to look through it and I thought, Well, this is pretty interesting and maybe not everybody gets a chance to kind of take some time to look at where workspace design began and where we're at today. So this is some research. Workspace design evolved from ancient Roman work rooms called Tableau Enum and 18th century dedicated buildings, such as the old Admiralty in London to 20th century factory like tailoring grids, then cubicle farms. In the 1960s, action office, and later to open collaborative casual landscaped environments, reflecting shifts from pure efficiency to employee wellbeing and flexibility driven by technology, business needs and social changes. So the most recent interviews that I've had is reflecting individualization, kind of the workspace design, so that if one worker is not necessarily thriving in that environment, we understand it more so and we're more equipped now these days to address that. But let's go back to antiquity, to the 1800s that's labeled early beginnings. Again, Ancient Rome, the tablet in a room in Roman houses, served as an early office or archive. You often hear about this. I'm reading a kind of a mystery series of books for kids right now. A lot of the action takes place in a Roman home in a tablet because the girl likes to study ancient texts in her dad's office there in the 18th century purpose built offices. So we start to move into offices like London's old Admiralty in 1726 emerged for large organizations. The old Admiralty building was repurposed into the offices for London's Department of International Trade from July 2016 to February 2023, because for the longest time you could go in and see them, but not anymore. And then on February 7th, 2023, the department was merged in a reshuffle with parts of the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to form the new Department for Business and Trade Experience. To be able to go in and see kind of one of the most ancient offices repurposed for today's purposes and then in the 19th century, industrial growth led to large hierarchical offices, with static desks often mirroring business structures. In the 20th century, there became a battle between efficiency versus humanity and the early 1900s tailor ism. So this was inspired by Frederick Winslow Taylor, where offices became rigid factory like grids focused on maximum output with managers in perimeter offices. Then we moved to modernism in the mid 20th century, where the rise of skyscrapers and steel frames allowed for large work surfaces. While post World War Two saw morale boosting features like break rooms in the 1960s, this was a big change called the Action Office or Bureau land shaft designed to counter terrorism. Robert Props it's PR op DST Action Office leading to cubicles offered freedom while German office landscaping bureau land shaft used organic layouts with plants designed where the organic layouts were designed for communication. In the 1980s, we moved into the cubicle farm and whenever I talked to people, you know, usually the boomers now and they just cringe at the thought of the cubicle farm. Now it says here that tax incentives and corporate expansion turn cubicles into symbols of monotony. There were tax incentives. I know, like, for example, Ireland was set up the Dublin Financial Center, IFC was set up as a tax haven. So a lot of American corporations went and set up there. And the whole area was developed. And that's when I started to go over to Ireland. And that's just one example that comes to mind in the late 20th century and beyond. Flexibility and culture are started to come into play. In the 1990s we had the virtual offices, we had internet and wi fi becoming largely used early telecommuting and hot desking emerged. In the 2000 you had the casual tech office. The i.t boom brought more casual collaborative spaces, emphasizing inspiration and tech integration. Now we have in the present day continued focus on hybrid work, biophilia activity based working and adaptable layouts reflecting ongoing technological and cultural shifts. So there's such a huge focus on future proofing, whatever we build now, I started to look at things like workspace design. What are some surprising aspects? This is what I came up with. Your brain reacts to space more than you think. Natural light boosts productivity and sleep quality offices with daylight exposure are linked to better mood, higher energy and even better nighttime sleep. High ceilings encourage abstract thinking. People tend to think more creatively in spaces with higher ceilings, while lower ceilings promote focus and detail oriented work. Plants aren't just decor. They can increase productivity by up to about 15%. They reduce stress, improve air quality, and make people more comfortable. Lingering in a space it says even fake plants can improve perceived well-being. Your brain is surprisingly easy to trick noise is a double edged sword. Moderate background noise around 70 DB can boost creativity. Think cafe vibes, which is quite often you see so many people in the Starbucks working. And in fact, when I first moved to New York City, I didn't have an office quite yet, but I wanted to get out of my apartment and want to be working there all day. So I would pay the, whatever, $20 for the day session and just park myself in Starbucks and got a lot done. Although phone calls were not really feasible because of the noise around and it sounded like you were always at a party or something. Kills concentration. This is why open offices often backfire without quiet zones. Furniture affects behavior. Sitting in soft chairs encourages collaboration, while hard chairs can lead to shorter, more task focused conversations, standing meetings tend to be shorter and more decisive, less rambling, more doing colors, subtly changes performance so blue improves creativity and calm thinking. Red increases attention to detail and accuracy, which is great for error checking green reduces eye strain and stress, making it ideal for long working work sessions. Layout influences hierarchy where you set matters. People closer to pathways and shared spaces are perceived as more influential. Removing corner offices often increases collaboration, but can also make leadership feel less reachable if not designed carefully. And choice. Choice equals happiness. More employees are happier and more productive when they can choose where and how they work. For example, at a desk, on a couch, a quiet room, or a standing table, activity based workspaces consistently outperform one size fits all layouts and personalization. It matters letting people personalize their desks with photos and objects improves wellbeing and commitment. Sterile offices might look clean, but they often feel emotionally flat. And then the last, and what they call the weird factoid is slightly uncomfortable. Temperatures can increase creative thinking too cozy equals sleepy, too hot or too cold equals miserable. There's a sweet spot of mild discomfort I enjoy that now. I started to look at home office design and then corporate design because, you know, people are either working from home or they're working at work and wanted to look at how you can maximize your space at home. I think a lot of times we get caught not changing out of our comfortable clothes. We could wake up and grab our laptop, go sit on the couch all day. But people have quite commonly told me that as soon as they get dressed for success, basically that success comes to them and they're more productive for home office design, small tweaks, big wins. One location matters more than furniture working near a window improves focus and mood, even if the view is just trees or sky. If possible, avoid working in your bedroom. Your brain struggles to separate work mode from rest mode, which messes with sleep and burnout levels. The power position effect sitting where you can see the door, but aren't directly in front of it, increases a sense of control and reduces background stress. Having your back to a doorway suddenly increases anxiety, your brain stays on alert. So and this interesting how there are slight little things that you may not realize are making you kind of nervous. Perhaps when you're working lighting beats, esthetics, a mix of ambient light and task lighting reduces eye strain. More than one bright overhead light, cooler light. So 5000 to 6500 kilowatts helps focus during the day. Warmer light works better for late work or creative tasks. Personalization equals motivation, photos, art or objects tied to identity or goals increase persistence on difficult tasks over minimal home offices look nice on Instagram, but often feel emotionally dead after a few weeks. You know, sometimes a very cluttered area is good, and then other times you just really need to clear it out so you can clear out your brain and that movement back and forth. I don't know, maybe it's a feminine thing or maybe an ADHD thing, but I even like to reposition things in my home office. Let's try here. Let's try there. I like the changes and that is a stimulant to me because I start to I guess I don't get bored and it doesn't feel monotonous. And the last point Micro Movement boosts thinking. Small spaces benefit from sit stand desks. So height, adjustable desks, footrests or balance boards. I know some people use treadmills, they'll use treadmills, but I did hear one time somebody actually died. But there is that risk, you know, if it happened once, but they must have been running. They fell and they hit their head on the desk or something and that was it. So just be careful, please, with your height, adjustable desk, that you're doing everything safely. Don't take your balance for granted. So and make sure you've got, like, a nice, sturdy desk. You don't want it to topple on you, especially at home with young ones. Make sure it's a very stable situation and movement every 30 to 60 minutes improves memory and idea generation, even late fidgeting helps. And I spoke last time about fidgeting in corporate workspace design. Open offices don't work the way people think. Open plan offices reduce face to face interaction and increase messaging such as slack email because people seek privacy. So I thought this was really interesting that people want privacy, open plan offices, reduce face to face interaction and increased messaging, such as using slack or email because people seek privacy, noise and visual interruptions are the number one productivity killer in these spaces. The best fix are hybrid layouts, open areas plus quiet zones, phone booths and focus rooms, too. Proximity equals collaboration. People are far more likely to collaborate with colleagues within ten meters stairs shared kitchens and coffee points outperform meeting rooms for spontaneous collaboration. How often have I been going up an elevator? And you see somebody? Oh, quickly. Can you do this for me? Yes. Okay. And now you've got something new on the go or you're just walking down the hall to another meeting and you run into somebody and says, I've been meaning to get in touch with you. So choice beats perks. Giving employees control over where they sit improves satisfaction more than flashy perks like game rooms. I think a cool one though, that I'd like to know what people think of as the cafeteria and they give up their cafeteria collaboration zone social spaces consistently shows better outcomes, so letting people choose where they sit and choose where they work. For temperature wars are real. Offices optimized for one average temperature usually feel most people providing localized control, such as fans heaters, operable windows, reduces complaints and improves comfort more than adjusting the thermostat again and coming to individual choice, your ceiling height and layout effect, high ceilings and open layouts encourage big picture thinking, enclosed spaces and lower ceilings. Improve concentration and accuracy. Smart offices intentionally mix both sex visual access to leadership matters when leaders are physically visible and accessible, not hidden behind glass walls, trust and communication improve, but total openness can backfire. Leaders still need retreat spaces for deep work. I would never want to give up a private office, even though a lot of people say private offices are a thing of the past. It's people who have a lot of balls up in the air, a lot of responsibility. I think the whole reference to having a lot of balls in the air, a lot of things to do, you just need to get through it all. But total openness can backfire. Leaders still need retreat spaces for deep work. And I was speaking to a friend of mine who's a boomer, and he mentioned that he would never give up a private office opportunity because, you know, for a person in a position who has a lot of balls up in the air, a lot of projects on the go, a lot of things that need timely attention that you need to move into a space where you can close that door and not be bothered. And this person is also super social. So, you know, getting it all done and then being able to go out and join in a high ceilinged environment, join a social area, go for it, you know, meet somebody for a coffee or something like that. That makes for a very fulfilling experience. I think at work for many, a shared rule for both office and corporate design for behavior, not appearance pretty offices don't automatically perform well. Spaces that support how people actually work do so a lot of times you have to interview. This is an h.r. Thing. You have to kind of interview or know your people well enough to understand what their needs are, how they work best, what their preferences are. And I think it's a big jump from even the eighties. Current owners who started the company in the eighties have to make that transition to the new way of working and that is getting input and trying to funnel that input into a practical solution that may not be able to address everything but can find a happy solution to the majority, or at least enough so that employees feel like, okay, I'm seen, I'm heard. Not everything's possible from my wish list. However, you know, I managed to pick where I wanted to, to sit in the room, or I get to have a secondary space when I need it. Okay. Home Office Mistakes to avoid working from the couch just for today. Feels cozy, kills posture and trains your brain to associate rest spaces with work. The result is lower focus and worse relaxation. Later, the fix is even a tiny, dedicated desk beats the couch to bad lighting. You don't notice until your head hurts overhead. Only lighting causes eyestrain and fatigue. Backlighting yourself window behind you is brutal for video calls, the fix is light from the side or front, plus a desk lamp. And if you're going to do video calls, there's like halo lights there are simple you can just put in front of you three desk facing a wall with zero visual depth. I thought this was really, really interesting. Okay, so if you're facing a wall with zero depth, can result in long term tunnel vision which increases mental fatigue. You subconsciously feel boxed in. The fix is to angle your desk toward a window or add depth with plants, shelves and artwork. So even if you have to face the wall, there's no other area in in the bedroom. So, students, you've got your dorm room and some little shelves or something interesting on the wall, some texture so that you don't feel so much like you're in a prison. I guess number four, ultra clean setups look great, but feel sterile. Lack of visual stimulation can reduce motivation and creativity. This is what I was talking about getting the little curio things around your desk that not only gives you some comfort, but also it stimulates in your eyes a little bit. The fix is 2 to 5 personal, awe inspiring objects is the sweet spot. Five Ignoring acoustics, hard floors and bare walls equals echo and distraction. Noise is one of the fastest ways to lose focus at home. The fix would be rugs, curtains, soft furniture or noise canceling headphones. Okay, moving to corporate workspace mistakes to avoid the one size fits all layouts. Not everyone works the same way or does the same tasks. Open offices fail when there's no escape. The fix is a mix of focus rooms, collaboration spaces and social zones. Two too many meeting rooms, not enough focus rooms. Meetings get priority over deep work. People take calls at their desks, which means noise, chaos. The fix is to add phone booths and single person focus rooms in a workspace layout. Designing for esthetics over behavior, glass walls everywhere look modern but increased distraction. White glossy spaces amplify noise and glare. The fix is to balance a visual openness with acoustic control for hot desking. Without storage, people feel temporary and detached leads to hoarding desks and territorial behavior. The fix is lockers or personal storage to restore ownership. Five Hiding leadership executives in sealed off zones reduce trust and approachability. Total openness, though, causes constant interruption. The fix is visible but accessible leadership spaces with retreat options. So here are some universal mistakes for both home and corporate. Number one no transition ritual. Rolling straight from bed to work to bed blurs boundaries, leads to burnout and always on fatigue. The fix is a start of day set up ritual and an end of day shutdown ritual that seems to be more catered to home, obviously, but kind of because we can start looking at our work emails right from the get go and we can finish our day in bed looking at work emails and the boundaries are being blurred here. You know, maybe there is a time to turn everything off. I think when you own your own business, you're always on and that's your choice to own a business. And it's also the pleasure to own your own business, too. There's a lot of pros that come out of it, but I think there needs to be cut off time to start times and cut times. So establish a transition ritual basically to ignoring ergonomics because, quote, I'll fix it later, neck, shoulder and back pain creep in quietly. Fixing it later is harder and more expensive. The fix is screen at eye level care that supports movement and feet grounded. Three Assuming productivity equals stillness sitting all day hurts focus and health brains work better with motion. The fix is encourage standing, walking calls and movement breaks for treating silence as ideal. Total silence can feel tense and unnatural. Some people focus better with soft background sound. The fix is quiet zones and low level ambient sound areas. The biggest mistake of all is copying someone else's setup without understanding your own work. So know thyself. The best workspace is the one that matters how you think, move and collaborate, not what looks good online. Then I said, okay, let's do a mistake proof workspace design checklist. So it says Function first before anything esthetic. This is a checklist. The space supports focus work. The space support is collaboration. There's a clear difference between work mode and rest. Social mode layout reflects how people actually work, not how it looks in photos. Next topic is lighting the most common silent failure. Natural light is available, but not behind the screen, so don't put natural light behind your screen. Don't sit with your back to a window. Basically, task lighting exists there. Use desk lamps, focus lighting don't use harsh glare on screens. Light temperature matches task. So cooler equals focus, warmer equals creative or wind down at the end of the day. Acoustics and noise control quiet zones exist for deep work. Calls and meetings won't disrupt focused workers. Soft materials such as rugs, panels, curtains, plants, reduce echo headphones or sound masking are available. Ergonomics and physical comfort screen at eye level. The chair supports movement. It's not going to be locked, rigid feet comfortably grounded or use a foot rest. Sit, stand or movement options available on the desk or the chair. Temperature can be adjusted locally, not one size fits all layout and flow desk placement allows visual depth, not staring at a blank wall all day. High traffic paths do not cut through focus areas. So if you've got focus areas, don't put high traffic paths through them. Collaboration spaces are near shared paths, kitchens, stairs, hubs, focus spaces are visually and acoustically protected. Next section is choice and control, a huge productivity factor users can choose where they work based on task. Users can control lighting, posture or sound. No forced hot desking without storage, personal items are allowed and encouraged. Next section is movement and energy. Space encourages standing, walking or posture changes. Walking meetings are possible. Breaks don't require leaving the building or room entirely. Furniture doesn't force stillness. All day and often overlooked topic is culture and psychology. Leadership is visible and approachable. There are informal interaction points such as coffee lounges, whiteboards. Privacy exists for sensitive conversations. The space feels human, not sterile ritual set up lighting positioning clear end of day shutdown ritual tidy power down lighting change work doesn't visually spill into the rest areas, especially at home final red flags. So if you say yes to these, fix something, if you see that people are wearing headphones all day to escape, no noise, that has to be fixed. Meeting rooms are always booked, but focus rooms aren't. People avoid certain areas without knowing why the space looks great but feels draining. The golden rule is that if people are constantly adapting themselves to the space, the space is failing. That's a tough one. You can't always choose the perfect space. You should be excited about your work so that you can see past workspace design. I do find I like to paint on the side and that's a hobby. I tend to be more comfortable in a setting where I have the TV off to the side and I can listen to that while I'm painting and it's engaging my brain while my body is moving over here and there's something that just works about it. I think that you might not be able to have a perfect room, but you can actually adapt the space to suit what allows you to be more productive. I think what they're saying is if you're constantly having to adapt, you're always uncomfortable. I think you need to say something to your either H.R. manager or office manager or something, or if you're not comfortable, you've got to figure that out. And I don't think you should ignore it is probably more pervasive than you think might be worthwhile asking other people if they're having difficulty. And then you can always make, you know, a simple change, maybe change in color, change in lighting to task lighting. Like some people, if you say, hey, entire workforce, who thinks that they would benefit from having a task like and you have like ten people raise their hand, you get them task lights and now this is boosting in productivity. So I think staying quiet about things doesn't help communicating things, but also not making it kind of a crutch either is important because at the end of the day, like I said, the work should be inspiring people that you're working with should be you can't always be in your dream job. I think there are so many things that make up a great workspace. It's the work itself and you can love it right from the get go or learn to love it and a welcoming environment. So you work with people that you feel comfortable with, a culture of warmth and welcoming, that people know that they're meant to bring people in. You know, I know that there's other places where it's all based on competition and people thrive off that. They want something that's edgy, they don't want to be coddled or anything like that. So again, you know, it comes down to company. Company style traditions, cultural history and kind of the nature of the industry that you're going into. So anyway, hopefully some of this has been interesting at the very least, something to think about. And maybe there is some tweaks that you can go and do to your desk at work or your home office or anywhere you're doing work. Thanks for listening and chat with you soon. Thanks for checking out Workspace Design Lab. If you're an architect, interior designer or workplace professional looking to stay ahead in ergonomic office design and modern workspace interiors, make sure to follow the show on your favorite podcast platform for more resources on sustainable office furniture and human centered workspace design, visit us at Novel Income until next time.