Most workplace research tells you what people say they want. Far less of it tells you what helps them perform. AWA has worked on that second question since 1992.
Offices can be overcrowded and underused at once. AI reveals the patterns planners miss.
What we research
AWA (Advanced Workplace Associates) is an independent workplace consultancy. With the Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa), we review the peer-reviewed science on how people think, work together and perform. Then we add our own models and data.
Our Cognitive Fitness research drew on 118 studies. Our 2026 AI model scores 412 UK occupations task by task. More than 1,000 business leaders have scored the same ten organisational capabilities with us over the past ten years.
The work is for COOs and leaders in operations, real estate and HR who have to commit to space and ways of working for years ahead. AWA has no ties to real estate or furniture suppliers.
How much of what your organisation believes about its workplace has been tested against evidence?
Neuroscience and cognitive performance
Organisations buy brainpower, then design work that drains it. The Cognitive Performance Index is a 10-minute diagnostic that shows how much of your cognitive capacity reaches your work. It scores four layers (foundations, environment, culture and workload) and draws on three research programmes produced with CEBMa.
Most people ask whether AI will take jobs. We ask which tasks it will take, and what that does to headcount and space. The AI Impact Report 2026 scores 412 UK occupations across 18 task categories. Its central scenario shows UK office demand falling by a net 54 million sq ft over five years.
A lease commits you to space for five to ten years while AI, energy costs and the market for skilled people keep moving. A decision that size needs evidence: how your space is used today, what your leaders need the workplace to deliver, and how headcount could change. Our Office Lease Event Guide sets out a 24-month sequence.
Working apart from colleagues is now routine, and success still has to be designed. Teams need clear agreements about how they work together. Our Managing the Agile Workforce series reviews the evidence on what makes dispersed teams succeed.
Each report sets out a question, the evidence behind it and what to do next. Managing Mental Workload (2021) is a good place to start. It is a Rapid Evidence Assessment of 28 primary studies, 22 of them randomised controlled trials.
Our latest report explores how organisations can benefit from implementing a licensing system that ensures employees are working safely and effectively when working from home in a hybrid work model.
Analysis of the latest academic research and our own studies has found that on average hybrid working employees deliver nearly two extra weeks of work a year for their employer as well as working harder and better in a hybrid…
Discover how competing demands in modern organisations impact cognitive performance and wellbeing. Our collaboration with CEBMa reveals insights into managing mental workload for enhanced productivity and wellbeing. Learn actionable strategies from the latest evidence in neurobiology and social psychology to…
The ‘Great Resignation’, as it has been dubbed, may see many organisations lose key members of staff. So how can business leaders hang on to staff and attract new employees?
Research series
Multi-part programmes that review the best available academic evidence on one subject, including work produced with CEBMa. The Six Factors of Knowledge Worker Productivity identifies six organisational factors linked to team performance, and it still shapes how we assess culture.
Trust and cohesion suffer most when teams go virtual. Five tips drawn from 750 studies.
Podcasts
The DNA of Work podcast runs to more than 60 episodes of conversations with scientists and practitioners. Episodes 61 and 62 feature neuroscientist Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose body budget concept is the framework behind our Cognitive Performance Index.
If you're intrigued by the complexity of the human brain and are seeking strategies to navigate challenging times, listen to this episode with Dr Barrett.
If you're intrigued by the complexity of the human brain and are seeking strategies to navigate challenging times, listen to this episode with Dr Barrett.
In this episode, we traverse the dynamic landscape of 2023's workplace transformations, delving into the significant role of AI in reshaping business operations and employee engagement. Additionally, we cast an insightful gaze towards 2024, predicting the trends and strategies that…
Events and webinars
Live sessions where AWA research meets the leaders who have to act on it.
Do you know what your senior leaders want from the workplace? Hear where the Chief People Officer of AICPA & CIMA and the CFO of Amnesty International agree and differ, and compare your priorities with 1,000+ business leaders.
Resilience now means performing under sustained pressure while protecting trust and wellbeing. Senior leaders examine what makes that possible, drawing on neuroscience, organisational psychology and AWA’s applied research.
AWA publishes research reports, multi-part research series, short insight articles, the DNA of Work podcast and live events. The main subjects are cognitive performance and the neuroscience of work, AI’s effect on jobs and office demand, workplace strategy and hybrid working.
Is AWA’s research independent?
Yes. AWA is an independent consultancy with no ties to real estate or furniture suppliers. Our evidence reviews are produced with the Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa) using Rapid Evidence Assessment, a method that rates the quality of each study before drawing conclusions.
Is the research based on UK data?
The AI Impact Report 2026 models 412 UK occupations under the ONS SOC 2020 classification, and every parameter in the model can be adjusted for your own organisation. The evidence reviews produced with CEBMa draw on peer-reviewed academic studies.
How can I access the research?
Insight articles and podcast episodes are free on this site. Research series are sent on request through a short form. AWA Institute members get access to the full archive of workplace science reports.
Tell us the decision you are facing
One of our consultants will talk it through with you and point you to the evidence that bears on it.
