Was Lumon right? People focus more at 'Severance'-style desks

MDR’s desks aren't pure fiction. Learn how research shows flywheel layouts boost employee focus by 17%.

Lumon Industries might be onto something. If you’re looking for deep-focus work, the flywheel desk configuration is your best bet. Sound familiar?

You may recognize it as the desk set-up used by the MDR team in Severance.

To be clear, we’re not holding Lumon up as a model for workplace best practices. But new research from Density with one of our major customers found that employees at flywheel desks stayed focused 17% longer than those in other setups.

Flywheeled employees averaged 69 minutes per session compared to 59 minutes for desks arranged in a bench and just 56 minutes for curved layouts.

Why? It turns out that when people need to buckle down, acoustic and visual privacy panels between desks help them stay focused and minimize distractions.

Sure, flywheel setups take up more room than a classic desk arrangement. But if you’re working on something important—even if it’s not as intense as Cold Harbor—it might be worth the extra space.

As it happens, Severance-inspired decor is having a moment. Check out Obsessed with Severance? Create the perfect office space for your innie.

Interested in learning more about Density’s workplace analytics?