What Makes Workers Happy?
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My Space
72% of U.S. adults surveyed prefer working in a private office to any other work setting. -
Partition-Free Zone
44% prefer working in an office with an open floor plan, rather than a floor plan with cubicles. -
Office Buddy
51% of the respondents would be comfortable sharing a workspace with someone else. -
Lofty Position
67% said it's important for senior leaders to have a corner office. -
In-Town Locale
80% prefer to work where there is easy access to restaurants, shops, gyms and amenity-offering businesses. -
Mass Transit
52% of workers surveyed said access to public transportation is important when considering where to work. -
Foot Power
44% prefer walking or biking to any other way of getting to work. -
Personal Touch
73% of respondents say that face-to-face meetings are important. -
Fluid Environment
53% are as comfortable working with a mobile device as they are with a desktop computer. -
Road Warriors
The Americans workers surveyed are willing to commute an average of 38 minutes to work each day.
If given a choice, U.S. employees would work in a private office rather than a cubicle, according to a recent survey from Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates. The report focuses on various workplace design preferences, as well as general sentiments about commuting and other work-life topics. Nevertheless, most professionals wouldn't have a problem sharing their space with a peer, and a majority feel that senior leaders are entitled to that status-making corner office. Results also break down differences in sentiments among various generations. Millennials, for example, are willing to commute nearly twice as long (51 minutes) as Gen Xers (36 minutes) and Boomers (31 minutes) are. And 55 percent of Millennials are receptive to office settings with open floor plans, compared to just 41 percent of workers in the other two generations. "The office sector has entered a unique era of servicing three distinct generations," says Fred Schmidt, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates. "Where and how people work is changing. The shifting economy is a big part of that." The following results focus on employees overall, rather than categorizing different demographics. A total of 2,065 Americans took part in the research.