How research can help organizations make more informed workplace decisions
People have more choice in where and how they work than ever before. With that choice comes a higher expectation for what the workplace should deliver.
As Anjell Karibian, Senior Workplace Research Strategist at Haworth, put it:
“The workplace more than ever before has a competitor, and it’s called a person’s home.”
But that competition also creates an opportunity. Organizations have the chance to think more intentionally about the role their workplace plays—and how it can better support their people, culture, and business.
The challenge is knowing where to begin.
That’s where research becomes valuable.
Haworth’s 2026 Global Employee Experience Report [insert link to download] provides insight into how people are using and experiencing the workplace today. Rather than pointing to one ideal workplace model, the findings demonstrate something Office Revolution sees every day: what people need from their environment changes based on what they’re doing, how their teams work, and the culture they’re part of.
For example, presentations strongly pull people into the office, at 88%, followed by project execution at 78% and brainstorming at 76%. Deep focus work is more divided, reinforcing that the best environment often depends on the work at hand.
The takeaway isn’t that the office is better than home—or vice versa. It’s that different moments call for different environments, and a successful workplace gives people meaningful choices to support them.
That thinking closely connects to Whole Body Design™, the framework we developed with Kelly Colón of Eledex Consulting. Focus, movement, connection, comfort, and restoration all contribute to how people experience a workplace. Creating spaces where people can perform at their best means considering the whole person and providing variety to support different needs throughout the day.
Research helps turn questions into better decisions
Workplace decisions can have a lasting impact on an organization—on real estate, culture, employee experience, productivity, and ultimately business performance. Research gives us another valuable tool for making those decisions more intentionally.
Instead of beginning with square footage, a furniture solution, or a predetermined idea of what the workplace should look like, we can begin by understanding the people who will use it.
What brings people together? What requires focus? How do teams collaborate? Where do employees have choice? What does the organization want its workplace to accomplish?
Those questions help shift the conversation from “What should we put in this space?” to “What does this space need to do for our people and our business?”
Anjell sees that shift reflected in the conversations organizations are having today. With more options available, clients increasingly want to understand not only what they should invest in, but why.
“What should I invest in and tell me the value?”
That’s an important distinction. Research gives clients and their workplace partners a stronger foundation for evaluating options, prioritizing investments, and making decisions with greater confidence.
As Anjell shared:
“By providing knowledge early, the asks are much more intentional.”
Research is a tool, not a prescription
One of the most valuable things about workplace research is that it doesn’t assume every organization needs the same answer.
A financial services company may have very different needs from a healthcare organization. A highly collaborative team may use its workplace differently than employees whose work requires extended periods of concentration. And even within the same organization, different people and teams may need different things from the environment.
Research gives us a broader perspective, but the client provides the context.
That’s where the combination of Haworth and Office Revolution becomes especially powerful.
Haworth brings deep, ongoing research into how people work, how workplace needs are evolving, and how the built environment can support human performance. Office Revolution brings that knowledge into the context of each client—combining research with our understanding of their people, culture, goals, workstyles, and space.
Together, those insights help us move beyond assumptions and toward more informed workplace strategies.
Why Haworth research matters to our clients
Access to Haworth’s research is one of the strategic benefits of our new partnership—and it goes far beyond reports and statistics.
It gives our team access to research strategists, global insights, emerging workplace trends, and evidence-based thinking that can become part of the conversation from the earliest stages of a project.
For our clients, that means we can bring another level of insight to questions such as:
- How should our workplace support hybrid work?
- What will give people a meaningful reason to come together?
- Where should we prioritize our investment?
- How much variety do our employees need?
- How can our space better support focus, collaboration, connection, and well-being?
- How do we create a workplace that can continue to evolve with us?
The goal isn’t to use research to tell clients what their workplace should be.
It’s to use research to help them discover what their workplace could be.
That distinction is important to us. Office Revolution’s role is to listen, understand, bring the right expertise and resources to the table, and help clients make decisions that support what they’re trying to accomplish.
Haworth research gives us one more powerful tool to do exactly that.
Want to dive deeper into the findings?
What’s Next: Oak Brook
Soon, we’ll have a new workplace of our own to share.
As our Oak Brook office comes together, we’ll take you behind the scenes to explore the research, products, thinking, and decisions shaping the space—and show how some of these same ideas are influencing our own workplace experience.
Because when it comes to creating what’s next, we believe in putting the same questions, insights, and ideas we share with our clients to work for ourselves.
