Accommodating privacy to facilitate new ways of working

This study identifies design features perceived as regulating privacy for an intergenerational workforce and where privacy fits into what is important for office workers in their work environments. The findings are part of an extensive study on workplace design characteristics that impact worker performance. The study stresses the importance of privacy needs to facilitate work. Results indicate that even though older and younger workers often associate similar design features with regulating privacy, cohorts generally do not perceive similar weighings of importance for design features perceived to regulate privacy. This suggests that design changes in the office may be necessary to provide older workers with the same opportunity as their younger counterparts to perform efficiently. Even though older workers may not need special design adaptions, they do seem to need different physical features to accommodate privacy needs. Further research is needed to generalize these results.