British workers suffer the worst offices in the world, survey finds

UK workers are less likely to feel they belong at work

Research has shown that the most engaged workers are those who have autonomy over how and where they work (Getty)

British workers suffer the coldest and ugliest offices in the world, according to a survey of 12,000 people across 17 countries.

Employees in the UK were more likely to say their offices were uncomfortable and uninspiring than employees in other countries, according to a poll by market research company Ipsos.

The poll, which was conducted for Steelcase, a workplace solutions provider, found that one in five UK workers said they were cold at work, while 13 per cent said their office was ugly – twice as high as the global average.

Light levels are also to blame, with workers feeling less content because they were unable to adjust to their working environment. UK workers were far more likely to say they were unhappy with the office temperature, and only 39 per cent of them were able to do anything about it. Likewise, many said they were unhappy with light levels and only 21 per cent were able to change them.

“Our research has consistently shown that the most engaged workers are those who have autonomy over how and where they work, whether adjusting the temperature, lighting, or workspace to suit their needs,” said Christine Congdon, a director at Steelcase.

The UK falls below the global norm on almost all workplace satisfaction metrics (Ipsos/Steelcase)

“When people feel like they have choice and control over various aspects of their physical work environment, it leads to greater satisfaction overall.”

Open plan offices are thought to be behind the high proportion of unhappy British office workers, making colleagues colder and less connected to their colleagues.

UK offices are also more likely to be overcrowded and have high numbers of nomadic workers, especially because of high commercial property rent in London.

This resulted in a high proportion of British workers who felt their office was impersonal. Only 15 per cent said they would describe their office atmosphere as “convivial” compared to the global average of 25 per cent.

One third of British workers said they were unhappy with their work environment, matching the global average of people who are dissatisfied with their surroundings at work but feel powerless to change them.

The UK was below average for employee's ability to change posture during the day, work in teams without being interrupted and to concentrate easily on the task at hand.

UK workers were also less like to say they felt they belonged at work or to feel relaxed and calm, the study found.

Employers have long sought to work out how they can adjust the office environment to make employees more productive. Google has its own Project Aristotle which was started in 2012 to figure out the secret to workers' success.

Google offers free lunches, massage rooms, nap pods, haircuts and health care. Employees get paid-for courses, free legal advice, free bikes and even space in the company garden to grow vegetables.

Despite this extensive research, Google has discovered that the secret to a happy office environment is something that can be had for free: being nice to one another.