{"id":169459,"date":"2026-07-16T09:06:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/eu-en\/?p=169459"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:06:03","slug":"blueprint-better-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/eu-en\/research\/articles\/topics\/hybrid-work\/blueprint-better-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Blueprint for a Better Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A workplace can look great. But what really defines a good day is whether it helps people get work done. Yet new Steelcase research in 9 countries reveals  that many workplace improvements aren\u2019t landing where they matter most.<\/p>\n<p>Employees identify 4 critical gaps holding the office back. Targeted improvements in these areas, even subtly at first, can make a meaningful difference right away.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-169461 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1776793483\/26-0272636.jpg\" alt=\"Blueprint for a Better Office\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>The obligation office<\/h2>\n<p>Globally, the number #1 reason people say they go to the office isn\u2019t to do their best work \u2014 it\u2019s because they\u2019re required to.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-169468 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1776793654\/26-0272835.jpg\" alt=\"Graphic showing the top five reasons people work in the office: work requirements, focus, collaboration, access to tools and technology, and sense of belonging.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>The office needs to support what matters<\/h2>\n<p>One likely reason why: across the board, people are not happy with how their spaces support what they think is most important. Gaps are sizable and have a real impact.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-169467 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1776794637\/26-0272834.jpg\" alt=\"Workplace experience chart showing employee needs for focus, collaboration, learning, rejuvenation, and socialization compared with current satisfaction levels.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Enhancing spaces to address 4 specific gaps \u2014 wellbeing, focus, screen time and privacy \u2014 significantly improves how people feel about the workplace.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>1. Address wellbeing: The biggest need<\/h3>\n<p>When asked what they most want improved in the office, employees overwhelmingly cite wellbeing as their #1 request. Data show the biggest boosts to wellbeing come from improving a range of spaces for focus, collaboration and connection.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-169462 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1777057849\/26-0272842.jpg\" alt=\"Workplace wellbeing statistics showing that 46% of employees consider wellbeing a top workplace priority, only 17% are satisfied with wellbeing spaces, and access to wellbeing spaces can increase office satisfaction by 26%.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>2. Fix focus<\/h3>\n<p>On average, people spend two-thirds of their day working alone, yet they are not happy with the spaces they have available for focus work.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-169466 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1776798035\/26-0272838.jpg\" alt=\"Workplace privacy statistics showing that 40% of employees are dissatisfied with access to focus spaces, 54% lack access to individual enclosed spaces, and workplace satisfaction doubles when employees have access to private enclosed spaces.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>3. Manage the screen effect<\/h3>\n<p>Screens now dominate the workday, with people reporting 71% of their screen time is spent alone. And too much screen time leads to lower engagement.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-169465 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1776798162\/26-0272837.jpg\" alt=\"Workplace engagement statistic showing that employee engagement drops by 12% when people spend 80% or more of their work time alone on screens.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>4. Add more pivacy<\/h3>\n<p>Privacy is key to addressing wellbeing, focus and screen time.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-169464 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1776798897\/26-0272841.jpg\" alt=\"Workplace privacy statistic showing that 58% of employees cannot get privacy when they need it in the office.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nEmployees point to a range of privacy needs beyond being able to just shut a door.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-169463 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1776799118\/26-0272839.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing the percentage of employees who lack workplace privacy: 52% lack acoustic privacy, 48% lack visual privacy, and 40% lack territorial privacy.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What People Need<\/h2>\n<p>Early signals point to a powerful lever most people don\u2019t have \u2014 access to a variety of spaces (3 or more) that support different kinds of work. And those who do, report higher levels of:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<span class=\"numeric-stat\">+14% Higher engagement<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"numeric-stat\">+16% Stronger sense of community<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"numeric-stat\">+13% Improved wellbeing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The message is clear. When workplaces support how people actually work in different ways throughout the day, people perform better and feel better. And that\u2019s what turns the office into a place people want to be.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Data Source:<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Steelcase Global Employee Research December 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Steelcase research across the offices of 9 countries reveals 4 critical gaps in office design that can hold workers back in surprising ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":169461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[14234],"class_list":["post-169459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-hybrid-work"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blueprint for a Better Office - Steelcase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New Steelcase research across the offices of 9 countries reveals 4 critical gaps in office design that can hold workers back in surprising ways.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/eu-en\/research\/articles\/topics\/hybrid-work\/blueprint-better-office\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blueprint for a Better Office - Steelcase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New Steelcase research across the offices of 9 countries reveals 4 critical gaps in office design that can hold workers back in surprising ways.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/eu-en\/research\/articles\/topics\/hybrid-work\/blueprint-better-office\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Steelcase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Steelcase.Unitedkingdom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T08:06:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,dpr_auto,q_70,h_600,w_1200\/v1776793483\/26-0272636.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Areli Arellano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@steelcaseuk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@steelcaseuk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Areli Arellano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blueprint for a Better Office - 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