Know your employee’s personality before designing office space

Creating an office space that caters to the needs of employees is paramount for increasing job satisfaction and productivity.

For instance, extroverted employees tend to perform better in open seating arrangements, while introverted ones prefer private offices. Hence, adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to office space design may not create an environment that suits individual needs.

According to a study published in the Journal of Research and Personality, workspace design should be customised to the employee’s personality, and the study’s authors maintain that this approach could serve as a vital tool for organisations to attract and retain top talent.

The study involved over 270 office employees who wore health tracking sensors and answered questions on their emotional state via their smartphones. The researchers identified the correlation between the employees’ health and wellbeing and different aspects of their work environment, such as workstation type.

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According to Matthias Mehl, Senior Author of the study and a Psychology Professor at the University of Arizona, considering both the individual’s personality and the environment is crucial in predicting critical behavioural and mood outcomes such as job satisfaction and productivity. He further noted that taking an employee-centred approach in designing and allocating workspaces may benefit employers.

Erica Baranski, Lead Author and Assistant Professor of Psychology at California State University, East Bay, added, “As it is estimated that we spend up to 90% of our time indoors, much of it in the workplace, it is imperative that those spaces fit individuals needs.”