The workplace has an impact on an employee's productivity, according to new research, which underscored the importance of designing workspaces purposefully.

A new report from business transformation provider SPS polled over 500 employees in seven markets to find that the workplace is a performance driver for employees.

"Employees who report that their productivity is better since 2020 are twice as likely to believe their workplace is highly supportive compared to those who report a decline," the report read.

"Of the employees who report that their productivity is
worse, 30% say their main workplace is actively undermining their productivity."

Crisis of engagement at work

The report comes as organisations face a crisis of engagement among employees, where engagement levels dropped for managers to 27% globally.

The SPS report found similar findings, where middle managers are "more than three times as likely" to report that their productivity levels have declined since the pandemic than senior management.

"They attribute this decline to excessive meetings which prevent focused work and lack of resources, with one respondent claiming that it is because middle management has been 'left behind in the evolution of the world,'" the report read.

The report also found that employees at the early stages of their career are the least engaged with their company's culture.

These employees feel that their contributions are not recognised and appreciated, according to the report.

"They are also most likely to report that their work environments - including their main workplace and home - actively do not support their productivity," the report read.

Impact of workplaces

The location where employees work impacts their engagement, according to the SPS report.

"When employees come into the office and don't find the tools or spaces they need to succeed, they become disengaged," the report read.

It revealed that the least engaged employees often work in poorly resourced environments and face challenges in finding spaces to focus.

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