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Leidy Klotz, author of the wildly popular book Subtract, has now turned his attention to a deceptively simple question in his new book, In A Good Place. How do the spaces we inhabit shape the way we think, feel, and perform? Rather than treating offices as neutral backdrops, Klotz argues that physical environments quietly steer behavior and emotions — often in ways leaders overlook. For organizations investing heavily in engagement and productivity, it’s a question that puts workplace design, not just workplace policy and performance metrics, at the center of the conversation.

Klotz highlights important disconnects between planning the workspace and the day-to-day business of running a company. What is lost when renewing the company mission is on one agenda, and upgrading the office space is on another? What might be lost when organizations pour resources into employee wellness but don’t do anything about those gray rows of horrible cubicles?

“Space is a way of telling employees that you want them to have a say in what’s happening,” says Klotz in our interview regarding his new book. “Or, you’re telling them the opposite — maybe unintentionally.” How companies design spaces subtly signals how much agency employees have.

By design, Klotz doesn’t mean consulting employees about choosing furniture or paint colors. Rather, can employees design their day around the space? If so, what does that look like? “Am I allowed to choose my commute time? Am I allowed to work in a conference room when I want? Or, am I just stuck in one spot because somebody wants me to be there?”

It’s not just agency, though, that employers should take into consideration when designing work experiences. Where people do their best work is also highly individualized, and allowing employees to discover that for themselves only boosts productivity. “I have a friend who lives on a houseboat in Florida, and that’s where she does her creative writing,” says Klotz. “But then she moves into the office to edit.” In short, it’s about matching the task to the space.

“One angle to designing spaces is making us happier at work, and the other angle is making us better at the work we’re doing,” says Klotz.

Well-designed spaces at work can also help us regulate our emotions. Everyone has, at one time or another, had that one colleague who simply by existing in the same space triggers multiple negative emotions. That’s a main reason why areas of separation and privacy are key. “An important thing to think about with your space is that physical distractions can easily become emotional distractions, too,” says Klotz.

What else can your office space inadvertently communicate? Klotz has a strong viewpoint on this, as well. “All of our spaces have free advertising that never turns off, and it’s important to recognize if it's not saying what you want it to say. Every company says they value employee input, and that everybody matters — that might even be right in the mission statement — but then if the space has the executives in one place and everybody else in another, you walk in and feel like a peon.”

Klotz suggests leaders conduct an audit of their spaces. “Next time you go into work, think about what message the space is sending. And while it might be hard to change the size of the lobby, maybe there are common areas that nobody’s ever using — so what’s going on with that? Perhaps you have a grand opening for the common areas, and then everybody will be more likely to use them. Once you've got people in those spaces, and then all of a sudden it feels more like people have ownership over the space.”