A happier, healthier workforce could see the UK’s productivity continue to rise – Atkins

Could the human-centred design approach be the key to the UK’s productivity conundrum?

 

Productivity in the UK increased at the fastest pace since the financial crisis, in the third quarter of 2017. According the Office for National Statistics, we experienced a 0.9 per cent rise in output per hour, or labour productivity, from the previous quarter. 

Yet despite its recent hike, there remains a large difference in productivity levels between the UK and other developed nations, which is why it continues to be a key priority for the Government and businesses to address. The UK falls 17 per cent below the G7 average and significantly below France (by 28 per cent), Germany (29 per cent) and the United States (31 per cent).  

 

In 2017, underlying data research was conducted by researchers from Imperial College London, in partnership with Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group. The research explored the ripple down effect on productivity through a HCD focus on health and wellbeing, and how this can positively impact future business growth and improve the position of the national economy. According to the study, a human-centred approach could lead to an increase of 5-8 per cent to UK productivity levels, which in turn could contribute up to £20 billion to GDP. 

 

So, what is human-centred design and how could it improve productivity? It involves examining the work environment and how its design impacts staff and their wellbeing. The research then identifies six key areas where a human-centred approach can have an impact:

 

1. Lighting – Provide substantial daylight provisions and high-quality artificial lighting.

2. Interaction – Allow a degree of self-determination to the office environment. This could involve enabling individuals to control lighting, the temperature of their immediate space and their physical desk set-up.  

3. Noise and acoustics – Reduce or even fully remove the ability to hear environmental noise (e.g. outside traffic), pink noise (human voices) and white noise (e.g. air conditioning systems) within the office. 

4. Thermal comfort – Install solar overheating in the workplace and allow individuals to control the temperature of their immediate space. 

5. Ventilation – Ensure the office has a sufficient ventilation flow, and install an air purification system to filter out Volatile Organic Compounds and carbon dioxide. 

6. Visual elements – Provide employees with plants and scenic outside views. 

 

While the above areas may seem like substantial and costly changes to make to the office environment, an estimated 570,000 work hours are lost every year in the UK to absences linked to poor building design, according to a 2016 Economic Study. The HCD research also suggests that the return on investment is rapid. Payback on introducing HCD elements into offices is estimated to range between two and six years, while some individual elements like noise and acoustics may see payback in a mere six months. 

 

Creating workplaces that centre around peoples’ needs is a model that has already been adopted by a number of buildings around the UK, with positive repercussions. If adopted more widely, a happier, healthier workforce could see the UK’s productivity continue to make positive gains well into the future.