At Knoll our approach to research is grounded in seven decades of working with our clients. We seek to listen, share and apply what we learn to each client engagement. We listen to Knoll clients to gain additional insights. We share what we learn through publications and presentations. We apply what we learn to inform product development and help our customers shape their work environments.

White Paper, Published 2011  -  Download

New ways of working are no longer restricted to early adapters. This paper describes five key workplace trends that are driving change and must be considered to create successful future workplaces.

White Paper, Published 2011  -  Download

Knoll conducted research to gain empirical insights from close to 15,500 employees representing four generations, in 40 countries, on the importance of six workspace features. This paper provides insights into how office workspace will need to be designed and furnished to support, attract and retain the emerging Generation Y.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

This paper debunks the conventional wisdom that Generation Y - the digital natives - are fundamentally better than other generations at using technology.

Topic Brief, Published 2010  -  Download

Review of six macro business, social and technology trends, and the implications of these trends on real estate and workplace strategy and implementation of workplace design.

White Paper, Published 2009  -  Download

Insights from studies on characteristics of Gen Y conducted by Knoll and others, implications for business, and aspects of the workspace for this group.

Topic Brief, Published 2010  -  Download

The demands of the office are morphing as the Baby Boomer generation begins to pass the baton to Generation Y. This study presents findings froma variety of sources to provide foresight into the emerging office.

White Paper, Published 2007  -  Download

This original Knoll research explores, from the employee perspective, how organizations can successfully provide for their mobile workforces.

White Paper, Published 2007  -  Download

A study (including 40 companies in 9 industries), comparing the "Distributed work" facility model with the conventional office space model. Provides a variety of facility metrics on individual and collaborative space types, sizes, utilization rates and other insights about how Distributed work spaces are implemented. This study includes a return on investment (ROI) model showing substantial cost savings and improved space utilization for Distributed work space.

White Paper, Published 2011  -  Download

Explores how companies are implementing Integrated Work concepts and programs to achieve business goals.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

A brief summary of key insights on the last several years of research on the Integrated Work model.

Topic Brief, Published 2010  -  Download

Describes the model of integrated work, key insights from research on this topic and specific design recommendations for effective workspaces.

Topic Brief, Published 2010  -  Download

The private office, a corporate standard in the realm of office planning, is evolving. This paper reviews some of those changes and discusses how to better design and deploy the changing private office.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

Describes a new approach to office design called “proportional planning,” a model that links planning to the predominance of particular work styles within the workspace.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

Organizations need to balance the open with the enclosed, the collaborative with the personal. This paper links work trends with planning attributes required when landscaping a modern office.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

A primer on Six Sigma and the emerging Lean Six framework that is especially well suited to optimizing processes and services provided by facility management organizations.

Topic Brief, Published 2009  -  Download

A research project with about 600 employees of an insurance company was conducted, to understand the effects of crowding on satisfaction and performance.

Topic Brief, Published 2008  -  Download

Discusses “environmental control,” the degree to which individuals, groups or business units can choose, modify and adapt features of their physical workplace to enhance work and business effectiveness, and how it applies to office design and planning.

White Paper, Published 2008  -  Download

Describes the types of collaborative “magnet spaces” – that are most effective. Presents key findings on four collaborative zones and identifies their common features.

White Paper, Published 2008  -  Download

This paper reviews research on open plan and private offices and provides design recommendations with a brief summary of the benefits of each of these approaches.

White Paper, Published 2008  -  Download

Describes the workplace evaluation process and how it can be applied to create and maintain efffective workspaces.

White Paper, Published 2008  -  Download

Ergonomic guidance documents (the HFES 100 and BIFMA G1) are written in a highly technical format and are often challenging for "non-experts" to correctly apply. This primer clarifies popular misconceptions and explains how to use these two documents to develop effective standards.

White Paper, Published 2011  -  Download

The concept of “office work” has broadened to include greater collaboration occuring within many types of spaces in a wide variety of locations. To remain relevant, the practice of ergonomics must also evolve to embrace a broader holistic perspective. This paper discusses this new perspective and its benefits to the practice of office ergonomics.

Topic Brief, Published 2011  -  Download

"Holistic ergonomics" integrates the engineering and psychology worlds – to create products and workspaces that support both how people think and move.

Topic Brief, Published 2009  -  Download

This paper addresses issues related to the importance, and future, of ergonomic seating.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

In the past, the only “ergonomically correct” seated posture for computer-intensive work was thought to be upright with hips, knees and elbows bent at 90 degrees. This paper summarizes new directions in thinking about what constitutes good ergonomic seating.

Topic Brief, Published 2009  -  Download

This paper summaries some of the major updates to the ANSI/HFES 100 – 2007, Human Factors Engineering of Computer Workstations, standard.

Topic Brief, Published 2008  -  Download

This paper reviews the evidence that supports investing in workplace ergonomics to realize improved performance, improved worker satisfaction, positive affect on recruiting and retention and improved quality of patient care.

White Paper, Published 2007  -  Download

Highlights emerging changes in US law firm practices from discussions with architects and designers that specialize in planning for law firms, and administrators that manage them.

White Paper, Published 2005; revised 2009  -  Download

Describes a Knoll research project with a higher education institution to evaluate the effectiveness of its learning spaces. Includes the issues studied, methods used, and performance guidelines for design of effective learning spaces developed as a result of this project.

White Paper, Published 2009  -  Download

A checklist of items that should be considered when planning a call center.

Topic Brief, Published 2009  -  Download

Research case study with almost 400 agents in a Call Center describes what findings about how specific design features affected agent performance.

Topic Brief, Published 2008  -  Download

Describes a study that compared the effects of centralized and decentralized nursing stations on nurses’ psychosocial health and work behaviors. This paper shares design recommendations based on that research.

White Paper, Published 2008  -  Download

Reviews the evidence that shows how investing in healthcare workplace ergonomics leads to improved performance, employee satisfaction, and quality of patient care.

White Paper, Published 2007  -  Download

Provides the rationale behind Antenna Workspaces and five specific considerations for succesful planning with this product.

White Paper, Published 2011  -  Download

Discussion of the changing workplace, considerations for the change process, and five specific steps to communicate workplace change.

White Paper, Published 2011  -  Download

Antenna Design have created a deceptively simple collection of desks, tables, storage units and screens that can be combined and recombined in a seemingly infinite number of ways to support highly collaborative and flexible workstyles.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

A brief history of ergonomic seating and the design intent of Generation by Knoll, the result of our collaboration with Formway Design, the Wellington, New Zealand-based collaborative.

White Paper, Published 2009  -  Download

The Generation by Knoll seating is based on the concept of elastic design. Knoll has extended its foray into dynamic seating to create a family of products with similar attributes. The first offspring is a multipurpose chair, aptly called MultiGeneration by Knoll™.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

Working again with Formway Design, the New Zealand-based collaborative responsible for the design of Generation, Knoll extends its foray into dynamic seating to create a family of products with similar attributes. The first offspring is a multipurpose chair, aptly called MultiGeneration by Knoll.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

Dr. Tim Springer, a renowned expert on ergonomics, provides an independent ergonomic evaluation of the Generation by Knoll chair. Springer also provides insights on the current use of ergonomic standards and how the ergonomics of seating is evolving.

White Paper, Published 2009  -  Download

With an eye towards reducing costs, organizations often evaluate the purchase of used furnishings. While savings may at first appear considerable, buyers must take into account a series of underlying factors in their decision making process.

White Paper, Published 2011  -  Download

Insights and specific steps and recommendations, on managing workplace change, and implementing a successful workspace transition.

White Paper, Published 2010  -  Download

Examples of “hot button” issues that should be addressed when creating guidelines for employees who have moved from private or other traditional enclosed work spaces to open offices.

Topic Brief, Published 2008  -  Download