Stok: Evolution of the Workplace

In 2018, Stok issued a report on the financial case for high-performance buildings demonstrating the positive impact that high-performance buildings can have on the individuals who occupy them. Today, in exploring the future of work, remote work trends and their impact on the role of the built environment are still being defined. There is still a need for high-performance buildings, however their place in and effect on the workplace experience, and where to focus efforts, remains ambiguous.

Continuing to build upon the metrics of employee productivity, retention, and well-being, this piece provides an update to Stok’s last report in consideration for the evolving role of the workplace and its impact on the employee experience and ultimately the organization’s bottom line.

While there are many shared best practices around the design, operations, and policies that define a workplace experience, Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist at Wharton and #1 New York Times bestselling author, reminds us that “many of our best practices were built for a world that does not exist anymore…instead of sticking to our old best practices, we need to be constantly searching for better practices.”

In an effort to demystify some of the noise around the next era of the workplace experience and the role of the built environment, Stok reached out to a select group of industry professionals. The goal was to gather insights and feedback on evolving aspects of the workplace experience and their perceived effect on three key occupant impact areas: employee productivity, retention, and well-being. The survey results highlighted five aspects of the employee experience that respondents indicated have the most positive impact on these three key occupant impact areas.

This paper provides clarity around what investments should be made in the existing physical workplace, and perhaps more importantly: in this changing paradigm of work, which investments will drive the largest positive impact on employee productivity, retention, and well-being.