Book excerpt: In an increasingly competitive environment, companies are being forced to think harder than ever about the way they work and how they can improve profitability. Creating the Productive Workplace provides a critical, multidisciplinary review of the factors affecting workplace productivity. Productivity is a key issue for individual companies as well as the national economy as a whole. With 70-90 per cent of the costs of running an organisation consisting of the salaries of the workforce, small increases in worker productivity can reap high financial returns. Many studies have shown that productivity at work bears a close relationship to the work environment. This book sets out the most important factors and evidence behind this phenomenon, and offers solutions to providing a work environment inducive to productivity. This book is essential reading for facilities and estates office managers, interior designers, architects and building environmental engineers. It is also a text for undergraduates and postgraduates studying these disciplines and related subjects.