As a business and psychology major, I have noticed that there is a trend towards more employee happiness in the workplace and that psychology can possess a heavy influence on the overall effectiveness of an organization. Thus, it makes sense that the way buildings are designed can influence how workers behave and interact with others and their environment. This will help increase the effectiveness of the workplace and maximize the utilization. This also means that architects have the ability to work with psychologists and those in the workplace to enhance the practicality, community, and overall satisfaction of employees.
The most effective ways a building is used are not always known by the architects and designers that are contracted to help construct it. Social design alleviates this by working with those who will utilize the work space to plan the workspace in terms of balancing the natural, physical, and social environment so that it best benefits the employees who will use them (Gruman, J. A., et. al (2017) page 370). Incorporating the needs of employees helps ensure that the space will be accomodating and beneficial to the employees. It is important to ensure that the building’s space is maximized for the functionality of the employees. In turn, workers may be more productive, efficient, and overall effective. Getting insights from employees on how a building can benefit them the most is a great way to improve organizational output as a whole.
In terms of social design, there are also different ways employees can interact based on their environment. In terms of traditional business environments, dimly lit cubicles and uninspired breakrooms can make isolation seem normal and conversation seem bad. Creating a more sociopetal environment can encourage social interactions (Gruman, J. A., et. al (2017) page 375). This, in turn, can help foster an environment that increases conversation and creates a communal aspect that aligns with organizational goals. A social space can also spark creativity and conversation that can enhance new perspectives and cross-departmental communication.
Social design itself does not only lead to more usage of a workspace and socialization, but also overall satisfaction of the employees and workers. A study was conducted about how different office design factors and office location can influence job satisfaction, and they found that it workspaces that are cellular (cubicle-style), near windows, and, interestingly, Northwest oriented, are generate the most employee satisfaction (Kwon, M., & Remøy, H. (2020)). This may be why we see shifts to a lot of windows in workspaces. Though social spaces are important, the preference of personal space may provide some reasoning for the satisfaction driven from cubicle-style workstations. Personal space is the distance of an individual from others; and usually, there tends to be a preference (Gruman, J. A., et. al (2017) page 380). Combined with the different orientations, employee satisfaction can improve through office design, which, like the building design, can improve the organization.
Social building design and office design can both increase productivity, community, and satisfaction in the workplace. From a business perspective, this is a crucial factor to consider because of the rising prevalence of the idea that employee satisfaction is imperative to the success of a company. From an applied social psychology perspective, it provides interventions that solve problems of workplace efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction.
References
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems
Kwon, M., & Remøy, H. (2020). Office employee satisfaction: The influence of design factors on psychological user satisfaction. Facilities (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England), 38(1/2), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-03-2019-0041