The Future of Healthy Workplaces: Blending Wellness and Productivity
Corporate is changing fast, and the workplaces that win will be those that stop treating wellness as a nice-to-have perk and start designing for human performance. The Global Workplace Survey by Gensler Research Institute makes this clear that top-performing workplaces are not defined by how many people sit at their desks, but by how well the space supports the ways people actually work, learn, and connect.
Bringing wellness and productivity together isn’t theoretical. Gensler’s Global Workplace Survey shows that employees value different “work modes” (working alone, collaborating in person, collaborating virtually, learning, and socializing) and that high-performing teams use a mix of these modes more intentionally. Designing spaces that support all five modes, while embedding human-centred, health-forward features, creates measurable gains in engagement and creativity.
Below, I unpack the business case, summarize the research findings that matter most for leaders, and share three practical applications companies can implement this week to blend wellness and productivity in meaningful, measurable ways.
First, you'll find that I refer to Gensler in this article simply because they are the leaders of the industry. From data collection to implementation, they lead it all; therefore, obtaining and drawing from their findings helps create an actionable framework for other brands and companies.
Gensler’s large-scale workplace surveys (16,000+ office workers across countries in the 2024 survey) found a clear shift: organizations that treat the office as a place for purposeful activity, learning, socializing, and collaboration, see higher performance and engagement than those that simply emphasize presence. Top performers spend less time isolated and more time in purposeful interactions and team collaboration.
Gensler also created measurement tools (like the Workplace Performance Index / WPIx and the Experience Index) so organizations can move from subjective claims about “culture” to concrete, comparable metrics about how space supports human experience. These tools are powerful because they give leaders data to link design interventions to outcomes that matter in ESG reports, talent retention, and productivity metrics.
Too often, wellness is overlooked and framed as a low priority. The research suggests the opposite because when workplaces encourage different work areas, prioritize environmental quality (air, light, acoustics), and provide spaces for recovery and social connection, employee health and productivity improve in parallel. In short, healthy design is performance design.
Here are three applications that your office can implement today. The first is to map out the different "work modes". Gensler’s work-mode framework is simple and actionable as it measures how your teams spend time across the five modes, then aligns space and schedule to support the most critical modes for high performance.
The best way to integrate this new pilot project within your company is to run a quick one-week diary with a team, asking people to log their dominant work mode each day (working alone, in-person collaboration, virtual collaboration, learning, socializing). Use the results to pilot changes for two weeks and reserve a room for focused work during mornings, open a collaboration hub for afternoons, and schedule dedicated learning time once per week. Track simple KPIs (perceived focus, meeting efficiency, number of interruptions) before and after the pilot.
This framework is actionable because Gensler’s data shows top performers leverage all work modes intentionally; measuring modes helps you reallocate space and time to what actually improves performance.
The second actionable step is to improve the environmental quality in targeted zones. Environmental quality (daylight access, ventilation/air quality, thermal comfort, and acoustics) is directly tied to cognitive performance and health. You don’t need a full renovation to make a measurable difference; strategic upgrades in high-use zones deliver fast wins.
For example, choose two communal zones (a large meeting room and a shared focus room) and implement these quick upgrades this month. First, add CO₂ or air-quality monitors to get baseline data. Second, add task lighting or move desks closer to windows where possible. Third application, install large potted lush tropical plants in sightlines, this provides a visual connection to nature and emits immediate health benefits to the end-users. Lastly, consider adding acoustic panels or white noise in meeting rooms to reduce distraction. Collect simple before/after feedback from staff on comfort and perceived concentration.
This isn't suggestions, they're applications that actually work. Gensler highlights that the experience of place, including environmental quality, is core to workplace performance; even small, measurable improvements in air and light correlate with better well-being and productivity.
One of the most actionable ways to reduce burnout and increase productive work time is to protect “deep work” windows and design meetings that respect attention. Gensler’s research underscores that people perform better when they have intentional blocks for learning and focus alongside collaboration.
It's highly recommended to instate a policy for “no-meeting mornings” two days a week for teams, standardize meeting lengths (e.g., 25/50-minute slots rather than 30/60), and require a short agenda and expected outcome for every meeting. Encourage managers to block one 90-minute focus session per week for their direct reports and to model it by not sending emails during those times.
Changing calendar culture reshapes how people spend time and creates clearer boundaries for recovery and learning, the same behaviours Gensler links to higher-performing teams. Track meeting hours and subjective focus scores before and after to show impact.
The important aspect of all these applications is not to guess feedback or performance, track it, measure its impact! If you implement one or more of the above, pick three measurable indicators to track: perceived focus/flow (short pulse surveys), collaboration effectiveness, and utilization of redesigned spaces (room booking and foot-traffic).
The future of healthy workplaces is not wellness versus productivity; it’s wellness as the mechanism that enables productivity. Gensler’s global research makes it clear that organizations that intentionally design for how people actually work, measure experience, and address environmental quality will lead in performance, talent retention, and organizational resilience. Start small, measure quickly, and scale what works.