Most business owners think of office design as a cost. They weigh it against other priorities and file it under “nice to have when the time is right.”
The research tells a different story. Study after study shows that the physical workplace is one of the most direct levers a business has when it comes to keeping good people.
This post brings together the findings from major workplace research. It explains what the data actually says, why it matters for companies in Newmarket and across the GTA, and what a thoughtful design investment can realistically deliver.
What The Gensler Workplace Survey Found
The Gensler Research Institute publishes one of the most authoritative workplace studies in the world. Their 2025 Global Workplace Survey drew on responses from over 16,000 full-time office workers across 15 countries and 10 industries.
The findings are direct. Employees in great workplaces are nearly three times more likely to stay with their company. They are also nearly three times more likely to feel their contributions are valued and to believe their environment supports their growth.
The numbers get sharper when you look at pride. According to the survey, 90% of employees who like their workspace say they are proud to work for their company. Among those who feel disconnected from their environment, that number drops to 47%.
That is a 43-point gap. It is not driven by salary or management style. It is driven by the physical space people work in every day.
The survey also found that only 26% of workers strongly agree their current workplace helps them do their best work. This means most offices are operating far below their potential as retention and performance tools.
What The Aflac WorkForces Report Adds
The Aflac WorkForces Report is a separate data set that looks at the relationship between workplace experience, employee wellbeing, and retention intent.
The 2025-2026 edition surveyed 1,002 employers and 2,000 employees across the United States. It found that 37% of employees are extremely or very likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months.
That is more than one in three workers actively considering leaving. The report also confirms that the cost of replacing a single employee can range from half to four times their annual salary.
However, the Aflac findings are useful beyond the turnover numbers. They consistently show that employees who feel their employer invests in their overall wellbeing are significantly more likely to stay. The physical environment is part of that investment signal. When the office is well-designed, comfortable, and functional, it communicates that the company cares about the people inside it.
When the office is outdated, noisy, or clearly not built for how the team works, it sends the opposite message.
Why The Physical Environment Drives Retention
It helps to understand the mechanism. Office design does not keep people at a company by itself. It works by shaping the daily experience of being there.
Noise and Focus
Research consistently identifies noise as one of the top sources of workplace dissatisfaction. Employees who cannot find quiet space for focused work report lower productivity, higher stress, and lower satisfaction with their employer overall.
An office that fails to provide acoustic separation does not just make work harder. It signals to employees that their need for focus was not considered when the space was designed.
Flexibility and Autonomy
According to the Gensler 2025 survey, employees with a high degree of choice over where and how they work are almost three times more likely to say their workplace supports both individual and team productivity. They are also nearly three times more likely to consider their office a great place to work.
This does not mean removing all structure. It means designing a space that gives people real options. Dedicated focus rooms, collaboration zones, and informal breakout areas all contribute to that sense of autonomy.
Wellbeing and Comfort
Research from Harvard Business Review found that wellness-focused office design can reduce stress-related absences by 20% and improve employee retention by 15%. These outcomes are not driven by luxury finishes. They are driven by access to natural light, comfortable ergonomics, acoustic management, and spaces designed for different kinds of work.
The World Green Building Council has also linked healthier buildings directly to reduced absenteeism and improved employee wellbeing. In short, the physical environment affects how people feel. How people feel affects whether they stay.
Pride and Belonging
The Leesman Index, which tracks workplace experience across thousands of organisations globally, consistently shows that employees who feel their environment supports the way they work are more likely to be engaged and loyal.
Pride in the workplace is a retention driver. When someone walks into an office that has been designed with care, they feel that care. It contributes to their sense of belonging and their confidence in the company.
The Return-To-Office Connection
Return-to-office policies have become a major source of tension for many businesses. Mandating presence in an office that does not make the commute worthwhile is a fast path to disengagement.
The Gensler 2025 survey found that employees globally spend about 55% of their week in the office. However, they say they need to be there closer to 65% of the time to perform at their best. Something is holding them back.
In many cases, that something is the quality of the space. Noise, poor layout, and a lack of usable zones are the barriers employees name most often.
As a result, businesses that invest in their physical environment are better positioned to make return-to-office policies work. The office becomes the place that supports the kind of work that cannot be done at home, rather than a mandate people find ways around.
What This Means For Businesses In Newmarket And The GTA
These findings are not limited to large corporations or major urban centres. They apply directly to growing businesses across Newmarket, York Region, and the broader GTA.
In fact, the stakes are often higher for mid-sized businesses. A larger company can absorb the cost of a few departures in a year. For a business of 20 to 60 people, losing two or three strong performers creates a much more significant disruption.
In addition, companies in Newmarket are increasingly competing with Toronto-based employers for the same talent pool. Hybrid work has expanded the geographic reach of job searches. A Newmarket role is now regularly compared against downtown Toronto options.
A well-designed office is a meaningful differentiator in that comparison. It signals that the business is established, invested in its people, and worth the commute.
What The Research Does Not Say
It is worth being clear about what the research does not argue.
Design alone does not fix a retention problem. If leadership is poor or compensation is significantly below market, an updated office will not overcome those gaps. The data does not support that claim.
However, the research does show that the physical environment is a consistent and underestimated factor in retention. For businesses that already have strong leadership and fair compensation, the office is often the missing piece.
For businesses where retention is a persistent challenge, the office is always worth examining as a contributing factor. It is frequently overlooked because it does not appear on an employee engagement survey. That does not mean it is not working against you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What does the research say about office design and employee retention?
The Gensler 2025 Global Workplace Survey found that employees in great workplaces are nearly three times more likely to stay with their company. Research from Harvard Business Review links wellness-focused design to a 15% improvement in retention. The Leesman Index, which tracks workplace experience across thousands of organisations globally, shows that employees who feel supported by their environment are significantly more likely to be engaged and loyal. Taken together, the research consistently shows that the physical workplace is one of the most direct and underused retention levers a business has.
How does the Gensler Workplace Survey define a great workplace?
The Gensler survey measures workplace quality based on how well a space supports different types of work, the degree of choice employees have over where and how they work, and whether the environment reflects what people value. Spaces that score highly offer private areas for focused work, flexible collaboration zones, and control over environmental factors like lighting and noise. They are designed for how people actually work, not just how a floor plan looks.
What specific design changes have the greatest impact on retention?
Based on the available research, the changes with the most consistent impact are acoustic treatment and quiet zoning, access to natural light, flexible spaces that support different work modes, and the overall quality and condition of the physical environment. These changes address the most commonly cited daily frustrations in workplace experience surveys. They also address the factors most closely linked to employee pride, engagement, and loyalty in the Gensler and Leesman data sets.
Key Takeaways
- The Gensler 2025 Global Workplace Survey found that employees in great workplaces are nearly three times more likely to stay with their company than those in poor ones.
- 90% of employees who like their workspace say they are proud to work for their company. Only 47% of those disconnected from their environment say the same.
- Just 26% of workers strongly agree their current workplace helps them do their best work. Most offices are underperforming as retention tools.
- The 2025-2026 Aflac WorkForces Report found that 37% of employees are very likely to seek a new job in the next 12 months. One in three of your team may already be looking.
- Harvard Business Review research links wellness-focused office design to a 15% improvement in employee retention and a 20% reduction in stress-related absences.
- Noise, lack of flexible spaces, and poor acoustic design are the most common physical barriers that prevent employees from wanting to be in the office.
- A well-designed office supports return-to-office compliance naturally, by making the office worth the commute rather than a place people find ways to avoid.
- For mid-sized businesses in Newmarket and the GTA, a quality office environment is an increasingly meaningful differentiator in the competition for local talent.
The research does not leave much room for ambiguity. The physical workplace is a retention tool. It either works for your business or it works against it.
For companies that are already doing the other things right, the office design is often the highest-leverage investment left on the table. For companies that are still struggling with retention despite strong leadership and fair compensation, the space is almost always worth looking at more carefully.
