Yes — through two distinct mechanisms. First, aesthetically thoughtful environments improve mood, motivation, and sense of organisational care, which has a real but indirect effect on engagement and output. Second, and more directly, specific physical design variables — acoustics, lighting quality, air quality — affect cognitive performance through physiological mechanisms that operate regardless of the employee’s subjective awareness of them. The most productive offices address both: they are well-designed aesthetically and they get the functional variables right.