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Senior Content Manager
Content specialist in office design and build.
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Inclusivity isn’t just an add-on to workplace design—it should be embedded at its core. Designing truly inclusive spaces starts with understanding the lived experiences of employees and recognising that each individual has unique needs. When we design for individuals, considering not just physical but also sensory, cognitive, and neurodiverse requirements, we create environments that empower everyone to do their best work.
Yet, many organisations are missing the mark. Research shows that nearly one in four UK employees regularly encounters barriers to productivity, highlighting the need for more thoughtful, inclusive design.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the most common barriers employees face and explore how organisations can overcome these challenges by embedding inclusivity into every aspect of their workplace design—strengthening both individual wellbeing and overall organisational success.
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Barriers to productivity and engagement
When asked how often they experience barriers in the workplace that hinder productivity, 18.5% of employees answered “often” with a further 4.2% saying they “always” experience them.
Interestingly, just 10.2% of UK workers said they never experience barriers to productivity. That’s just one in ten people who can go about their day without being hindered by something in their work environment.
What’s causing these barriers? More often than not, it comes down to design. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the different design choices that impact employee performance, including layouts, acoustics and the choice of spaces.
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Inclusive Workplace Design Report
Download The Inclusive Workplace Report to discover insights from 1,000 full-time employees on how workplace design impacts productivity, engagement, and overall job satisfaction.
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What barriers are employees dealing with?
To dig a little deeper, respondents were also asked to name specific barriers they encountered in the workplace . These were the following key areas mentioned:
- Noise – Excessive noise levels, particularly in open-plan offices, were a common complaint – mentioned by 32% of employees. This included noise from colleagues, phone calls and machinery.
- Space – Another major concern was a lack of personal space, privacy and quiet areas for focused work, which was cited by 8.2% of workers.
- Lighting – Insufficient or poor lighting, including glare from screens, was mentioned by 9.7% of respondents.
- Temperature – Issues with temperature control, both too hot and too cold, were reported by 5.4% of employees.
- Furniture – Uncomfortable or unsuitable furniture, including chairs and desks, was also frequent complaint.
- Accessibility – Finally, some employees mentioned a lack of accessibility features for individuals with disabilities, such as wheelchair ramps or accessible restrooms.
It’s no surprise that many of these barriers are common among workplaces. They stem from the constraints faced by practically all businesses when it comes to their workplaces – namely, a lack of space, budget limitations and inadequate employee feedback loops.
If businesses had unlimited time, money and real estate, most spaces would undoubtedly be inclusive. However, that’s not the case – which is why thoughtful design is so important.
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How inclusivity barriers impact engagement
When thinking about inclusivity, it’s important to distinguish it from equality. Equality in the workplace simply refers to the fair treatment of all staff, which is covered by the Equality Act (2010). This legislation protects people from discrimination at work based on nine different characteristics – including age, disability and race.
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If a workplace isn’t inclusive, that doesn’t mean it’s actively discriminating against groups of people who share a certain characteristic. However, it could mean that people don’t feel valued, considered and – as the name suggests – included. In turn, this typically means they aren’t comfortable or capable of working to the best of their ability.
Consider an office that doesn’t have quiet areas for focused work. That might seem fine at a creative agency, for example, where most of your team like to bounce ideas off one another. But what about the finance team, who need to concentrate on number crunching? Or just introverts, who would prefer some quiet time during their working day? Inclusivity is about catering to all your employees, not most of them.
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This isn’t just hypothetical. In the survey, one respondent noted: “I find it difficult to work in my office as it’s a large, open-plan space and I struggle to concentrate with such a high level of background noise.” Similarly, another employee explained that “There aren’t any quiet and calm spaces in my office for deep work and concentration, which makes it difficult to be productive.”
The barriers mentioned in Oktra’s survey demonstrate several ways in which a working environment can impact productivity. When it’s happening “often” or “always”, as the survey suggests for almost a quarter of workers, that’s a significant issue for employers.
Reduced productivity means a lower overall output from your teams. It can also lead to a higher staff turnover, with over half of respondents saying inclusivity is “important” or “very important” when evaluating potential employers.
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Overcoming barriers through design
So, how can businesses overcome inclusivity barriers in the workplace? The answer is through effective workplace design. But before you dive into an office remodel head-first, let’s talk about consulting staff.
Personalisation is at the heart of workplace inclusivity. As such, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all inclusive office. It’s important that employers involve their own employees in the design process to ensure the end result is truly inclusive of everyone’s different needs and preferences.
Let’s say noise is an issue, as reported by so many respondents in our survey. Acoustic treatments like noise-friendly flooring and acoustic panelling can reduce noise transfer. On top of that, adjacency planning is an effective solution to this design problem, allowing businesses to maintain quieter areas in the office. This might mean putting certain teams together who work collaboratively, while placing quieter teams in other parts of the office.
The other most common issue cited by employees is concerned with space. But maybe you feel limited by the size of the office you’re working with? Again, this is something that can be overcome. Workplace consultancy allows you to identify which spaces are underused or in need of expansion. As a result, you may be able to reconfigure certain parts of the office, giving you space to offer more variety in the types of work settings.
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Meeting employee needs
Inclusivity barriers are a frequent concern for a significant number of UK employees. They range from noise, lighting and temperature to space, furniture and accessibility. As well as reducing productivity, these issues can lead to a higher staff turnover, with a majority of workers prioritising inclusivity when searching for a job.
Office design is central to inclusivity – and it’s vital to consult employees about the changes you’re making. An experienced office design company can also add significant value. Not only do they know how to overcome common inclusivity barriers, they can also assess your existing office and how it’s utilised to plan a more efficient use of space.
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Speak to a workplace expert
020 7553 9500
info@oktra.co.uk
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