Margaret Thatcher always said she was most productive when she was slightly cold, and slightly hungry. Her working environment had a great impact on the amount that she achieved on any particular day, let alone across the full term of her premiership.
When we think of commercial development values, a number of influencing factors might spring to mind: floor area, location, market rent, market supply, service charge costs, heat and light efficiency, rates liabilities. These are all valid – but employee productivity is a factor which often gets overlooked.
Cold offices in Westminster
Around the same time as Thatcher stepped out of her slightly cold 17th century office for the last time, across the pond, Barbara Lippiatt and Stephen Weber were writing a paper on the net benefits of good office design. The premise was that since employee salaries far exceed building costs, higher-priced office designs that enhance productivity may make sense. They noted that in a 1984 study, it was found that on a square foot basis, employee salaries are about 13 times building costs. This might mean that a 13% increase in construction costs could be justified if it results in a greater than 1% increase in productivity. Read More