Changing working patterns are raising major issues in terms of quality of life at work. Odile Duchenne, Managing Director of Actineo, the Quality of Working Life Observatory, reacts to the findings of the 2025 Quality of Working Life Survey, conducted with Sociovision, a subsidiary of the Ifop Group.
Question 1: For this latest edition of your Quality of Working Life Barometer, you chose to work with Sociovision (an Ifop Group subsidiary). How did our approach contribute to your reflections and the development of the survey’s scope?
To produce our Actineo Quality of Working Life barometer, we called on several opinion survey institutes, including Sociovision. We particularly appreciate Sociovision’s sociological approach and depth of analysis, because we’re backed up by real experts in the social sciences, and that’s what makes the difference.
Sociovision benefits from an incredible database on French society, thanks to its own Observatoire France, which it has been running for 40 or 50 years! Sociovision is unrivalled in its ability to identify major and emerging trends in all areas of interest to us: values, aspirations, lifestyles, relationships at work, etc.
Question 2: The 2025 survey reveals growing tensions around telecommuting, the commitment of younger generations and the relationship with the collective. How has the analytical depth of this edition enabled you to gain a better grasp of these changes, and what lessons do you draw for office players?
Over the course of our surveys, questions on spatial planning and office equipment have been enriched by other questions on values, work relationships and management issues, especially this year. Thanks to this 360° vision of the challenges of office life, we understand the importance of office layout and equipment in helping working people feel that they have a good quality of life at work, and their interdependence with other issues: HR, management, health, well-being, collective life and working conditions.
Armed with this robust scientific knowledge, the players in office life are well equipped to adapt their offer and services to their customers, and convince them to invest in their employees’ living environment.
Question 3: In a context where expectations in terms of quality of life at work are becoming more demanding and protean, what do you think are the most differentiating contributions of this study to the development of tomorrow’s office offers, services and spaces?
Every 2 years, we are the only survey in France to question a representative cross-section of the French working population, focusing on workspace design and equipment. Thanks to the survey results, we can confirm that layout and furnishings contribute to employees’ sense of well-being and satisfaction at work. The key findings of this edition on the place of work in people’s lives, the acquired right of teleworking, the values of individuality, growing freedom and collective life in the workplace, will inspire all those involved in office life and help to transform our living spaces, thanks to the common thread revealed by our 2025 wave: the strong demand from employees for their employers to give priority to social harmony and well-being within the company