Research Design Connection: Workplace Preferences

Chadburn, Smith and Milan studied the reactions of knowledge workers in London to various workplace options. They found that this group responded positively to “a flexible range of office settings that enable both a stimulating open and connected work environment, knowledge sharing, collaboration, as well as, quiet concentration locations, free of distractions and noise…hot-desking was unanimously disliked by knowledge workers.”

Ana Chadburn, Judy Smith, and Joshua Milan. 2017. “Productivity Drivers of Knowledge Workers in the Central London Office Environment.” Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 19, no. 2, http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/JCRE-12-2015-0047

Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.