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| Location of office ranks highest for French workers, says Savills According to Savills What Workers Want research conducted in Paris, office location and its proximity to public transport was ranked highest by a majority of employees at 68% and 80% respectively with those surveyed considering the time they spend commuting everyday as very important. Lydia Brissy, director of Savills European research, comments: "The average commuting time in Ile-de-France is 84 minutes per day, which represents about 20% of a typical work day, therefore its not surprising that 80% of respondents are concerned about commute time." Despite the significance placed on location, Savills survey found that relocations may not be the most effective solution in terms of staff productivity. Nearly 60% of respondents reported no productivity gains following an office move. Likewise, the report results shows that refurbishing office space does not necessarily increase productivity with only 25% reporting that it caused improvements. However, workstation enhancements, such as ergonomics and more comfortable chairs, seem to have a much more significant impact on employees. Savills reports that, excluding all location-based parameters, overall basic comfort features prevail with noise ranked highest followed by light, comfort, smell and temperature. Security was also ranked by 57% of surveyed staff as most important. Architecture and office fit outs was perceived as relatively minor elements Savills found. However, approximately 50% would prefer to work in new or modern offices (against 18% in Haussmannian building) and 56% would prefer working in a offices with a more modern fit out. Savills research found that only 14% of respondents in Ile-de-France are working in alternative workspaces (AWS) such as hot desks, communal space and working from home. Although only a small percentage are currently working from home, 38% of respondents say they would like to do this more frequently. Marie Josée Lopes, director of research at Savills France, adds: "Recessionary pressures brought about a need for workplace strategies to reduce space and therefore costs. Space rationalisation will continue however, we do not believe that this will affect the overall size of floor-plates acquired as occupiers will simply use the office differently allocating more space for common use, leisure and even sport." Savills research found that Generation Y employees are less concerned about their personal workspace than more senior colleagues, which explains their openness towards AWS. 41% believe that the AWS adopted by their company had a positive/very positive impact on their productivity (32% in general). The survey also indicates that they will give even more importance to their workplace location than the older generations. 38% would primarily like to change their office location, against only 27% for the respondents older than 35 years old. Lydia Brissy adds "In the future the main challenge for corporates will be to redesign the traditional workplace in a more effective and appealing way to enhance creativity and innovations. But we believe that location will always remain key." write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Construction News :: home page |