What does today’s talent need, want and expect from their work environment?
The 2018 Capital One Workplace Environment Survey asked 3,500 full-time office professionals, 18 and over, to share their thoughts about the impact of workplace design and employee experience on their satisfaction, creativity and productivity at work. The responses are comprised of
1,000 nationwide
+ 2,500 combined designated markets (500 per market)
= 3,500 total responses
In 2017, the survey was limited to only the five designated markets. Comparisons between 2017 and 2018 data refer to the combined media market data.
This survey was supported by Capital One’s Workplace Solutions team, the group dedicated to building dynamic and scalable workplaces for Capital One associates and implementing sustainability initiatives and on-site experiences including health and wellness benefits.
Insights summary
Deliberate Design Remains Crucial to Attraction & Retention
The revolution in workplace design seen in the past decade isn’t just a trend; employees’ views of the current state and overall importance of workplace design is steady year-over-year.
Office Design Drives Productivity & Innovation
Significant majorities of office employees reported that more design-forward workplaces help them to be not only more creative and innovative, but also increase their productivity.
Employees Want Flexible Workplaces & Employers
Today’s workforce wants to work for companies that accommodate all kinds of work styles with flexible workspaces and agile, forward-thinking design.
Q. How important is it, if at all, that your company’s workplace design is flexible?
Office design is critical to employees
Most employees (85%) think flexible workplace design is important.
Millennials feel even more strongly, with 42% saying workplace design is very important, compared to just 34% of Gen Xers and 32% of Boomers.
Q. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement – companies cannot encourage innovation unless their workplace design and environment is innovative.
Flexible design is essential to create & innovate
79% of employees think companies need to have an innovative environment if they want to encourage innovation
Nearly 4 in 5 employees agree (79%) that companies cannot encourage innovation unless their workplace environment is innovative.
▪ Among executive level employees, that rises to 87%, with 42% agreeing strongly, compared to just 77% among non- executive level employees.
Q. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement – I have my best ideas when I’m able to use flexible workspace options. Regardless of your current office workplace design, how much more or less productive are you when you change your physical location while working?
Flexible design drives productivity & innovation
Q. Which of the following design elements, if any, would you like to see in your workplace?
Office design: Elements that matter
Q. When considering a new job, how much more or less important is workplace design compared to workplace location?
Design is equally or more important than location
32% of employees think workplace design is more important than workplace location
2 in 3 employees (66%) say that workplace design is as important, or more important, than workplace location.
▪ Executive level employees feel even more strongly. More than 3 in 4 (76%) say workplace design is as, or more, important than workplace location, compared to just 63% of non-executives.
Q. Which of the following, if any, do you expect from the next company you work for?
Attracting talent: Meeting expectations
Q. How important is it, if at all, that your company’s workplace design is flexible?; How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement – I have my best ideas when I’m able to use flexible workspace options.
Flexible design is trending up
Most employees (88%) find flexible workplace design to be important, up 3% from 2017.*
▪ Flexible workplace design is not just an expectation, employees increasingly view it as essential to producing their best work.
▪ Employees who strongly agree that they have their best ideas when utilizing flexible design is up 3% from 2017.
*Note that this year-over-year data is from the 2,500 aggregate sample size and is not national data. Please see page 2 for details.
Research methodology
The Capital One Workplace Environment Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 3,500 adults, 18 and over, in the U.S., including 1,000 office professionals employed full-time in the U.S., and 500 office professionals employed full-time in each of the following DMAs: Chicago, Dallas, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., between April 19 and May 2, 2018, using an email invitation and an online survey.
Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points for the national sample and 4.4 percentage points for each of the DMAs from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
