The days are getting longer, sunnier, and warmer in the western hemisphere. Those bright summer days have a bigger impact on the workforce and the physical office than you may think. The obvious ones are longer lunches and fewer people in the office due to vacations. Yet when everybody is in the office, there is one common human habit happening during the summer that is often overlooked. One that undermines employee productivity and increases a building’s carbon emissions.
The productivity killer? Sunshine. Not that anybody is against it, but when the sun is at its highest and hottest, sun glare and heat penetrating the glass panes in office buildings prompts employees to leave their desks. They either spill over into another area of the office, disrupting colleagues, or they leave. Meanwhile, the air conditioning continues to blast, cooling unoccupied areas, wasting energy, increasing operational costs, and elevating the building’s CO2 emissions.
Office insight reduces carbon emissions
Since buildings account for almost 40% of the world’s carbon emissions, with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems being among the largest contributors, having insight into human behavior in the office can help reduce those emissions. This issue is not new, but the data to prove its impact on the workforce and planet has only been recently uncovered.
For example, a global, well known Silicon Valley tech company took a closer look at how their workforce is using the office. Their goals were to improve collaboration, productivity, and energy efficiency.
The company installed sensors that combine AI and body heat sensing technology to understand anonymous human movements in the office. At the large tech company, they aggregated 3-months’ worth of office data and identified human occupancy patterns. The analysis led to specific recommendations to improve the company’s office energy efficiency.
Below are actual recommendations from the report:
Weekday early mornings and evenings: Reduce HVAC setpoints before 8:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m., when saturation rates are consistently low.
Midweek daytime control: Reduce airflow to 50% capacity outside of the following high-demand periods: Monday at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday and Wednesday between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., and Thursday between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
This data can also be used to make decisions about window shades, insulation, and lighting.
Office layout impacts productivity
Going beyond an understanding of how employees move around the office, the tech company was also able to infer actions and interactions among employees.
Being able to visually depict human movements without identifying individuals provides genuine data into corporate culture and employee engagement. The actions are far more insightful than any feedback an employee survey could offer.
For example, the frequency of impromptu meetings based on chair rollbacks. Also, seeing a cluster of humans congregating in the hallway for a short period of time, especially when the gathering is not held at the top of the hour or at the half hour.
From a workforce perspective, office layouts also impact productivity and energy efficiency. This reality is not lost on employers and property managers as the latest JLL Global Office Fit Out Cost Guide 2025 reveals. The report cites an increased focus on in-office attendance, employee experience, and sustainability performance on investing in high quality workspaces. This explains why the average global office fit-out cost is increasing.
Understand the workforce needs
However, the latest design trends may not align with the workforce needs and/or reflect the corporate culture. For example, another insight the tech company gained from the sensors was that individuals were reserving conference rooms for themselves. This ties up meeting space for others and puts unnecessary demands on the HVAC system that is set to accommodate large groups. It is also an indicator that the open office layout increases noise levels and is not conducive to supporting focused work.
You can gain a better understanding of how the workforce uses the office without compromising privacy. Aggregated data on occupancy, foot traffic, human interactions, and their impact on energy consumption can lead to more comfortable, productive, and energy-efficient offices. And having that knowledge before undertaking a costly office renovation can make a big difference in ensuring the building aligns with the needs of the workforce as opposed to making employees adjust to the confines of the office.
Honghao Deng is CEO and cofounder of Butlr.
