No. (But if implemented in the right way: Yes)
Even though we will do interviews, questionnaires, staff reviews, polls etc… the issues involved in the design of the work environment are so complex, so broad that in the end it is impossible to please everyone.
In order to be able to keep all the issues together it is crucial to know what to keep and what to forget from the analysis phase of WorkVitamins. I call this “selective listening”. After all, the basic idea of WorkVitamins is that the process is not a cure to a problem, but a suppplement to change. WorkVitamins is preventive rather than reactive and this is sometimes difficult to see during the design process.
As the WorkVitamins procedure starts with a Shared Workplace Vision (read more about the process at vanderarchitects.com) the vision can only be set by those who steer the company. The direction of where a company is going needs to be clear, and well defined. If that is not the case the rest of the staff will not be able to understand the purpose of WorkVitamins. Actually, if not communicated well WorkVitamins can easily create the opposite effect: confusion and revolt.

If for example one of the issues that has been identified during the Shared Workplace Vision was to improve team communications, every one in the organization should understand why team communications is important to the company. If the implementation of the spaces that will encourage team communications will have an impact on the overal space plan, this too needs to be made clear. If not, a territorial battle over personal space will unleash and will severely damage the implementation. Thus the importance of “selective listening” during the analysis: to understand and identify the elements that could potentially emphasize as well as damage the implementation of the Shared Workplace Vision.