"This article is the second in a two-part series based on findings from the 2008 Gensler Workplace Survey. The first part, "Working around the water cooler: Research findings suggest socialization as critical to high performance as 'heads-down work,'" is available at ebn.benefitnews.com.

Gensler's 2008 Workplace Survey identified four primary work modes - focusing, collaborating, learning and socializing - and explored how much time employees spend in specific work modes, and how critical each mode is to productivity and overall company performance. One key finding is that today's workers put as much emphasis on collaborating, learning and socializing as focusing. In fact, employees at top-performing companies consider time spent on nonfocus work more critical to job success than workers at average companies."