New Capital One Survey Reveals What Chicago Professionals Want in the Workplace

CHICAGO, Aug. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In recent years, workplace design and environment have become a significant part of company culture – and a tool to help drive productive, innovative and collaborative work.

Released today, Capital One's Work Environment Survey of office professionals across five major markets (New York City, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.), revealed the influence that design has on employees in the workplace, and more specifically what office professionals currently have access to, what they want, and what they expect from their next employer.  

"The results of the Capital One Work Environment Survey show that more than 4 in 5 Chicagoans believe that companies can't encourage innovation unless their workplace design and environment is innovative, which confirms what our team already believed to be true and underscores how important design is to overall success of a company," Carrie Ruban, Director, Workplace Solutions, Capital One said.

Key findings for Chicago workers include:

• Design Drives Innovation: 82% of Chicagoans believe companies can't encourage innovation unless their workplace environment is innovative
• Local Culture is Missing: 67% believe local culture isn't currently reflected in their company's workplace design
• Flexibility is a Must: 82% have their best ideas when they're working in flexible space options, and can work an average of just 5 hours per workday in the same space before they become less productive and creative
• Wanted: Attractive Design Elements: The most desired design elements include natural light (62%), artwork and creative imagery (46%) and easily reconfigurable furniture and spaces (43%)
• A Gap in Health & Wellness: Most Chicagoans said their company doesn't currently offer mother's nursing rooms (76%) and environmentally friendly programs (71%). When asked to prioritize on-site benefits, the top three responses were healthy food and beverage options (40%) and a tie between relaxation/social areas (36%) and health/wellness centers and programming (36%)
• Location, location, location?: When considering a new job, nearly 2 in 3 office professionals believe that workplace design and environment is equally important or more important than office location

"At Capital One, our workplace strategy is grounded in associate needs with a focus on flexibility, innovation and collaboration so that they can thrive and create breakthrough products for our customers," Sam Fisher, Senior Director, Workplace Solutions, Capital One said. "We see the workplace as a hybrid of design, amenities, culture, inclusivity and technology – all focused on providing the best environment and options for different work styles and roles."

In addition to Chicago data, the survey also shows a snapshot of the country with aggregated results from New York, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.:

• Design Drives Innovation: 82% of office professionals believe companies can't encourage innovation unless their workplace environment is innovative, and 63% feel innovation isn't reflected at all in their current workplace's design
• Local Culture is Missing: 69% believe local culture isn't currently reflected in their company's workplace design
• Flexibility is a Must: 82% of office professionals have their best ideas when they're working in flexible space options
• Wanted: Attractive Design Elements: The most desired design elements include: natural light (62%), artwork and creative imagery (44%) and easily reconfigurable furniture and spaces (43%)
• A Gap in Health & Wellness: Most office professionals said their company doesn't currently offer mother's nursing room (76%), and environmentally friendly programs (70%). When asked to prioritize on-site benefits, the top three responses were healthy food and beverage options (41%) and relaxation/social areas (36%) and health/wellness centers and programming (35%)
• Location, location, location?: When considering a new job, nearly 2 in 3 office professionals believe that workplace design and environment is equally important or more important than office location (Millennials – 71% - are more likely to believe this than Boomers – 56%)

About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., had $239.8 billion in deposits and $350.6 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2017. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has branches located primarily in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Visit the Capital One newsroom for more Capital One news.

Survey Methodology
The Capital One Work Environment Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 500 office professionals employed full-time in each of the following DMAs: Chicago, Dallas, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, DC between May 24 and June 7, 2017, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the employed population in each DMA.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 2.0 percentage points overall, and 4.4 percentage points in each DMA from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the samples.

SOURCE Capital One Financial Corporation

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