Professor Sir Cary Cooper, CBE is recognised as one of the world’s leading experts on well-being and stress at work and is the media’s first choice for comment on workplace issues.

ebate surrounding the impact the office environment has on employees is becoming more prevalent, but what has been proven is the well-being and productivity benefits incorporating natural elements, or biophilic design, into a workspace can bring.

The biophilic design concept is founded on the idea we have an innate need to be continually connected to nature. The body of work supporting this concept and its benefits in the context of the workplace is growing rapidly. In most recent research, the Human Spaces global report – commissioned by global modular flooring manufacturer, Interface – office spaces incorporating natural design elements were found to increase workers’ well-being by 15%, productivity by 6% and creativity by 15%.

Interface is passionate about the concept of biophilic design, leading the industry in developing beautiful flooring solutions that are inspired by nature. Its collections give designers more freedom to create commercial spaces where people are more engaged, collaborative and creative.

Bringing the outdoors in, as it is often envisaged, can convey a number of challenges for designers, however. You may have the luxury of building from the ground up, but many will be coping with existing spaces that don’t lend themselves easily to biophilic design, and, of course, budgets are a prime concern. Regardless of the project, research clearly headlines a number of areas that form the foundation to approach biophilic design in the workplace.

Natural light

When asked about the most desired element in an office, 47% of global office workers in the Human Spaces global study specified natural light as their number one choice. Sunlight is the most fundamental aspect of the natural world and, regardless of what lighting is available, design professionals should advise business leaders on how to maximise this as much as possible in the workplace.

As an example, Google asks its employees to wear light meters to collect data on how much natural light is achieved in-house and inform the design process.

Another key consideration is the function of space. It is much more beneficial if natural light can be optimised for long-term workstations, rather than spaces that are only temporarily occupied, such as meeting rooms.

Colours

The subject of colour is a complex one. The range of shades and lack of research mean, currently, it’s impossible to attribute defined meaning to any one colour. What we do know is that certain colours engender a deeper physiological and psychological response, including enhanced creativity or better cognitive focus.

For example, shades of greens have been linked to better creativity, while blues have been associated with improved productivity. What the designer should consider is how these shades can be incorporated as accents into the overall look and feel of a workspace and where the use will be most effective.

Layout

Many modern offices adopt an open plan design, a sprawl of desks grouped together to encourage collaboration. There are few barriers, while ringing telephones, clattering keyboards, and colleagues’ voices likely form the backdrop. Questions are being raised over the suitability of this environment for ensuring happy, productive and creative employees.

As a case in point, almost two fifths (39%) of respondents who were surveyed for the Human Spaces global study said they would be most productive working on their own in a solitary environment, while 36% opted for an open plan office. Interestingly, individual countries also show a much greater preference for certain environments. For example, in Germany almost two thirds (59%) of workers prefer private offices, while almost half of workers in Brazil (46%) and India (47%) preferred open plan spaces. What these country preferences for office layout suggest is that it’s likely individual inclinations extend to the organisational and individual employee level.

Designers need to work with businesses to establish how the space will work effectively for each client on that individual basis. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, however offering flexibility with the types of spaces available and considering acoustics can all improve the overall impact of the environment on well-being and productivity.

Textures

One of the ways in which biophilic design is thought to be most effective is through the use of patterns that mimic the randomness and variety of nature. It’s thought that this diversity produces the greatest amount of activity in the brain, and as a result delivers the most stimulation and pleasure. Creating effective randomness is almost asking for the impossible, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that this is fast becoming one of the most scientifically studied areas. One of the ways designers can look to incorporate patterns inspired by nature into the workspace is through texture. This could be in larger areas such as flooring or walls, or individual pieces such as artwork or furniture.

A carefully planned office design can reap tangible daily rewards for employees. They could potentially see their outputs increase, well-being improve, and creative processes boosted, which all can affect the bottom line rather healthily. Design professionals are the lynchpin of this, ensuring the concept of biophilia can work effectively in any space to help organisations create inspired workspaces that challenge the norm and cultivate better, more effective ways of working.