Does more comfort and cosiness in the office boost productivity?

Why do employees come to the office even when they don't have to? It's because of a need that is an essential part of human well-being: relationships.

According to the largest and therefore most representative happiness study, people need all kinds of relationships to be happy. And that includes work relationships.

With their office furnishings, they make an important contribution to designing working environments in such a way that they promote relationships. The more opportunities there are to talk to each other, the more places that invite people to linger and exchange ideas, the more likely it is that the need for more togetherness will be met. One reason for the trend towards a new cosiness in the office.

This has also been scientifically confirmed: Offices with pleasant materials and harmonious colours are considered to be particularly cosy.

• Offices with warm colours (e.g. earth tones, pastel colours) are perceived as more homely, inviting and calming than rooms with cool colours (e.g. grey, white).
• Natural textiles such as wool contribute to a better sense of well-being than synthetic materials.
• The combination of warm colours and natural textiles achieves the most positive results in terms of employee comfort, well-being and satisfaction.
• Gender-specific differences were found: Women reacted more strongly to the colouring, while men reacted more sensitively to the texture of the textiles.

König + Neurath has updated the new fabric collection with a view to long-term trends and added a variety of new cosy and sustainable fabrics to the range.

With the new ACTA.PRO shelf system and NET.WORK.PLACE Wave lounge system, we are reflecting the "work-life blending" megatrend even more consistently. Both solutions divide rooms into cosy and inviting feel-good, productivity and meeting zones. The new fabrics and surfaces have an important function here. They form a sophisticated synthesis of aesthetics and haptics.

The choice of materials and colours allows you to define different work and style worlds - to suit your work culture.

We refer to the following studies in this article

The Standard. Draxler, Tanja. (2023): Decade-long study reveals what really makes us happy (online). Published in Der Standard. https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000142991328/jahrzehntelange-studie-enthuellt-was-uns-wirklich-gluecklich-macht (as of June 2024).

Yıldırım, K., Hidayetoğlu, M. L., & Yüksel, E. (2023): "The impact of colours and textiles on perceived workplace comfort and well-being". (online) Published in: Journal of Corporate Real Estate.