By Timothy Goldacre, Director at Neo Office

A good office should offer more than a desk and somewhere to hold meetings. It should help people concentrate, collaborate, connect with colleagues and feel comfortable throughout the day. For businesses investing in their workplace, those expectations are worth paying attention to because they affect how well the space works for the people using it.

Hybrid working has changed what employees expect from an office. People have experienced greater control over their working environment and are more aware of the conditions that help them do their best work. That doesn't mean every business needs to rethink its entire workplace, but it does make it worth considering whether the space still supports the way the team works today.

At Neo Office, we spend a lot of time discussing those questions with clients. As the sole authorised Steelcase supplier and installer for the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, we also have access to workplace research that gives us a wider view of the challenges businesses are facing.

Steelcase's latest global employee research, conducted across nine countries, identified gaps in wellbeing, focus, screen time and privacy. Employees reported spending around two-thirds of their working day on individual work, yet 40% were dissatisfied with their access to suitable focus spaces. More than half lacked access to an enclosed space for individual work, while 58% said they could not find privacy when they needed it.

For employers, those findings are a useful reminder that the quality of an office is determined by how well it supports the activities taking place within it. A workplace may have excellent furniture and attractive finishes, but people still need somewhere suitable to concentrate, meet, take calls and work with colleagues.

The answer lies in providing a variety of settings. Adjustable workstations can support everyday tasks, while quieter desks and acoustic booths give people somewhere to focus or take calls. Enclosed rooms provide privacy for confidential conversations, and collaborative tables make it easier for teams to work together. Comfortable breakout areas also have a role, creating opportunities for informal discussion and a change of setting during the day.

Steelcase found that employees with access to three or more types of workspace reported higher engagement, a stronger sense of community and better wellbeing. The principle is straightforward: people benefit from having some choice in where they work, rather than relying on one setting for every activity.

Furniture can help create that flexibility. High-backed seating offers a degree of visual and acoustic protection in open areas, while mobile screens can define temporary spaces. Height-adjustable desks, monitor arms and supportive task chairs help individuals work comfortably, and tables with integrated power make meeting spaces easier to use.

For a business owner or office manager, the starting point should be understanding how the existing office is being used. Ask your team which tasks are difficult to complete, where interruptions occur and which spaces are underused. That feedback provides a clearer brief and helps identify improvements that will make the greatest difference.

A better workplace does not always require a complete refurbishment. Targeted changes may be enough to address the points in the day that cause the most frustration, whether that means introducing a quiet setting, improving a meeting area or reviewing how workstations are configured.

At Neo Office, we help organisations turn those findings into practical changes, drawing on our product knowledge and the research behind the brands we work with. The aim is to create workplaces that look good, feel good and work properly for the people using them.

The office people want to work in is not necessarily the largest or most impressive. It is the one that understands what people need and makes a consistently good working day easier to achieve.