U.S. employees are happier working from home. A new report from office furniture retailer National Business Furniture, conducted by The Harris Poll, reveals that 73 percent of on-site employees report being frustrated with their workspace.
“Workspaces play a bigger role in employee behavior than many organizations realize,” said Yonca Heyse, president of National Business Furniture. “When the environment makes it harder to focus, collaborate or feel comfortable, it directly impacts whether people want to be in the office.”
About 1 in 5 employees report posture fatigue and uncomfortable seating as causes of discomfort. Only 47 percent say they can easily collaborate with others in dedicated spaces always or often, highlighting gaps in how current environments support both focused and collaborative work.
More than half of on-site employees say they struggle to focus at work at least sometimes because of their workspace setup. Meanwhile, 42 percent say they always or often feel connected to their coworkers because of their workspace setup.
“Employees are telling us exactly what’s not working: noise, lack of privacy and spaces that aren’t comfortable,” said Heyse. “These challenges point to a broader issue: the way people work has changed, but many workplaces haven’t kept up.”
Work today looks different. People move between focused work and collaboration throughout the day, meeting with colleagues both in person and virtually, but many workplaces aren’t designed to support this range of work.
More than 20 percent of employees say they are frustrated by noisy environments, while 22 percent say a lack of privacy makes it difficult to get work done. Nearly 20 percent say cluttered shared spaces make it difficult to complete tasks in the workplace.
Among hybrid employees who experience workspace frustrations, 77 percent say they would work on-site more often if those frustrations were resolved. Today, however, only 36 percent say they consistently want to go into the office. Meanwhile, among on-site employees, 79 percent say improvements would increase how often they come into the workplace.
The report notes that employees aren’t asking for a complete overhaul. Instead, they are looking for practical improvements that make the office more usable and effective. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said they would like more small, private workspaces, while 23 percent said they would like better hybrid-ready collaboration areas. Additionally, 23 percent want better-designed collaboration zones for employees working on-site.
The report stated that making these changes can directly influence attendance. When employees have spaces that support how they work, they can be more focused, feel more valued and be more likely to come into the office more often.
“Practical changes like better layouts, more comfortable seating and zones designed for different types of work can make a meaningful difference,” Heyse added. “When organizations invest in the right environment, they make it easier for employees to do their best work.”
