{"id":2634,"date":"2025-04-24T11:13:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T09:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/?p=2634"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T08:55:10","slug":"time-to-update-your-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/time-to-update-your-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Update Your Office?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A functioning workplace isn\u2019t automatically a great one. Sure, a desk, ergonomic chair, solid Wi-Fi, and meeting rooms tick the basic boxes, but do they inspire people to think, collaborate, and create at their best?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, we tend to think that what makes a space is simply what\u2019s in it and how it\u2019s used. But research in cognitive science and organizational psychology paints a richer picture. Our cognition isn\u2019t confined to our heads, it includes our body, extends into our environment and is shaped by the interaction with our surroundings (Malinin, 2016<\/a>). Just as a scent can trigger a vivid memory, the design of a space can spark creativity, trigger emotions, create attention, increase productivity and even facilitate decision-making (Peschl & Fundneider, 2014<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Title: Open Office; generated with DALL-E, adapted by Isabel Kreitner <\/figcaption> \n<\/figure>\n\n

Workplace environments can act as \u201ccognitive scaffolds\u201d. They can ease mental load, support focus, spark social connection, or, if poorly designed, do the exact opposite. A systematic review by Thoring et al. (2019)<\/a> shows that spaces designed with creative processes in mind, spaces that allow for both stimulation and reflection, can significantly boost idea generation and problem-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, while we regularly update our IT systems, most offices stay the same for years, despite shifting workflows, evolving teams, and hybrid working norms. The pandemic was a wake-up call: work has changed, but have our spaces followed suit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news: we don\u2019t need to redesign everything from scratch. Small, targeted updates, based on a clear understanding of how your people work, can have a dramatic impact on how your space functions and feels, and thus create positive bottom-line effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the open-plan vs. private office dilemma. One encourages transparency, flexibility and informal exchange; the other enables focus, boundaries and personal comfort. A three-year longitudinal study at Novartis Coradi et al. (2014)<\/a> showed how different workspace layouts support different types of knowledge work: high proximity fosters exploitation (redefining knowledge through rapid feedback), while high visibility fosters exploration (generating new ideas through diverse encounters). Takeaway? It\u2019s not about either-or, it\u2019s about choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \"\"\n
Title: Showroom Office; generated with DALL-E, adapted by Isabel Kreitner <\/figcaption> \n<\/figure>\n\n

Another common trap: the \u201cshowroom office\u201d. Designed to look impressive with white walls, minimalist furniture and echoing silence, but lacking personality, warmth, and identity. These spaces might win design awards, but they rarely win hearts. Real teams need real environments: spaces that feel alive, human, and tailored to their culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s zoning challenges, underutilized areas, clutter, or a missing sense of belonging, often it only takes a few well-placed changes to unlock a space\u2019s potential. Thoughtful lighting, flexible furniture, natural elements, collaborative corners, and even small rituals like \u201creset moment\u201d on Fridays can reshape how teams interact with their environment, and eventually with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need major renovations or sky-high budgets to get there. What you need is insight and smart design, delivered through a simple, collaborative process. Curious what an update could do for your office? We would love to explore it with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weiterf\u00fchrende Literatur<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Coradi, A., Heinzen, M., & Boutellier, R. (2014). A longitudinal study of workspace design for knowledge exploration and exploitation in the research and development process. Creativity and Innovation Management, 24(1), 55\u201371. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/caim.12099<\/a><\/p>\n

Malinin LH. Creative Practices Embodied, Embedded, and Enacted in Architectural Settings: Toward an Ecological Model of Creativity. Front Psychol. 2016 Jan 6;6:1978. doi: 10.3389\/fpsyg.2015.01978. PMID: 26779087; PMCID: PMC4701984.<\/a><\/p>\n

Peschl, M. F., & Fundneider, T. (2014). Why space matters for collaborative innovation networks: on designing enabling spaces for collaborative knowledge creation. International Journal of Organisational Design and Engineering, 3(3\/4), 358. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1504\/ijode.2014.065072<\/a><\/p>\n

Thoring K, Desmet P, Badke-Schaub P. Creative Space: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design. 2019;1(1):299-308. doi:10.1017\/dsi.2019.33<\/a><\/p>\n

Feature Image: System Update; generated with DALL-E, adapted by Isabel Kreitner<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A functioning workplace isn\u2019t automatically a great one. Sure, a desk, ergonomic chair, solid Wi-Fi, and meeting rooms tick the basic boxes, but do they inspire people to think, collaborate, and create at their best? Generally, we tend to think that what makes a space is simply what\u2019s in it and how it\u2019s used. But … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":2642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2634"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4011,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634\/revisions\/4011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.egm.at\/www.thelivingcore-original.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}