CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, today shared the results of a recent survey conducted during IFMA’s World Workplace conference that took place in Q4 2019. CORT surveyed over 1,000 industry professionals at the conference to uncover the greatest challenges to creating a productive and accommodating work environment for employees.
The overwhelming majority of respondents are facility managers tasked with ensuring that buildings and amenities accommodate the needs of the people they serve. According to the survey results, employee experience and well-being are both on the rise in the workplace today, with nearly half of respondents expressing interest in design trends related to employee health and wellness. Profitability and hiring more employees are also top priorities for businesses moving into 2020.
Workplace design insights and survey highlights include:
43% of respondents are interested in trends related to employee health and wellness, such as sit-to-stand desks, adjustable lighting in their workstation areas and ergonomic seating
57% are focusing on adding people in the next 12 months, as compared to only 34% in 2018.
63% said that a combination of open and closed workspaces is important, indicating a trend towards offering employees space to work privately or collaboratively with coworkers.
36% said cost is the greatest organizational challenge when it comes to providing furnishings.
“With a high number of respondents focused on hiring over the next year, businesses must be nimble when it comes to creating the ideal workspace for existing and new employees,” said Peggy Moore, Senior Vice President of Sales at CORT. “CORT’s Furniture as a Service (FaaS) approach enables businesses to change the work environment as needs arise and effectively minimizes concerns about the associated cost of furnishings for companies. FaaS is all about access to what you need at a particular moment in time, and having it gone when those needs change, rather than owning long term.”
CORT has been conducting its facility management survey at IFMA for nine years in order to uncover their customers’ primary business concerns. While the results year-over-year indicate that employees have always been a primary consideration, facility managers and companies today are not only looking at expanding their workforce more than in years past but also showing an ever-increasing interest in how to maximize space for employee experience, wellness, and sustainability.
“When the idea of the open workspace was first introduced, companies were very resistant to changing their office design due to concerns about cost and privacy,” said Ron Sauter, Vice President of Facilities Management for numerous commercial and residential properties in Baltimore, Maryland. “But now, many are starting to see the tangible results of creating a synergistic workplace that promotes collaboration and productivity. I think these survey results indicate that companies understand employee happiness and wellness is the key to long-term business success, and furnishings are a helpful tool to accomplish that goal.”