New workplace design service focuses on team performance
JLL has introduced JLL Social-Spatial Design, a workplace design service that combines behavioral science and evolutionary psychology to improve how teams work together.
Developed in collaboration with Thompson Harrison, the service helps organizations design workplaces that support focus, collaboration and decision-making. It also enables companies to measure the impact of workplace design on team performance.
Behavioral science shapes workplace design
The new approach is based on the idea that while technology and work models continue to evolve, human behavior and cognitive limits remain largely unchanged.
Instead of designing offices around desks or organizational structures, JLL Social-Spatial Design focuses on how teams actually interact. The service uses behavioral insights to guide decisions on office layouts, acoustics, workspace adjacencies and collaborative settings.
According to Nicasio Gutierrez, Global Head of JLL Design, the service gives organizations greater confidence that workplace investments will support team performance.
Teams become the center of workplace planning
JLL treats the team as the primary unit of workplace performance.
Its specialists observe how employees focus, collaborate and move throughout the workplace. They then use proprietary assessment tools to identify performance gaps and recommend evidence-based design improvements.
Before wider implementation, the proposed changes are tested through low-risk pilot projects.
Measuring workplace success beyond occupancy
Unlike traditional workplace strategies that focus on space utilization, JLL Social-Spatial Design measures success through performance indicators.
These include:
- Collaboration effectiveness
- Focus and concentration
- Learning and knowledge sharing
- Employee engagement and belonging
- Overall team performance
JLL says organizations can typically see improvements in workplace perception within one to three months, behavioral changes within three to six months, and broader performance and retention benefits within one to two years.
Research supports evidence-based workplace design
The launch builds on JLL’s ongoing research into workplace performance.
The company is also exploring how office environments affect focus, stress and collaboration using electroencephalography (EEG). Research conducted with the International Centre for NeuroArchitecture and NeuroDesign, University College London (UCL) and the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) examines how factors such as lighting, sound and workspace layouts influence employee performance.
Supporting the future of work
JLL believes evidence-based workplace design will become increasingly important as artificial intelligence automates routine tasks.
By improving workplace conditions for collaboration and decision-making, JLL Social-Spatial Design aims to help organizations create environments where teams can perform at their best.
