"physical workplace" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to an actual office space, or to contrast it with a virtual workplace. For example, "Businesses are now experimenting with the concept of a virtual workplace, but many still prefer the traditional physical workplace."
It is generally accepted that the physical workplace environment affects employees' satisfaction and, consequently, their perceived productivity and well-being.
The purpose of this research is to explore the theoretical framework of the physical workplace environment and its effects on job performance.
Building and maintaining trust in the traditional, physical workplace is difficult enough, but the process is even tougher in a virtual environment, where people often have to work with people they haven't met in person.
While industry doctors insisted that there was no proof that changes in physical workplace conditions could reduce workplace injuries, William D. Zollars, chairman of the Yellow Corporation, the parent company of the Yellow Freight trucking company, boasted that his company had cut ergonomic injuries through voluntary actions.
Think of how well you'll fit in and utilize the physical workplace.
In other words, the physical workplace that offers many diverse settings for a variety of work needs is one answer.
Physical workplaces cost money — think about all the times you've heard the expression "putting your money where your mouth is" — so the messages they send carry a lot more weight in workers' minds that easy to generate verbal platitudes.
Too often neglected in popular and scholarly accounts of such groundbreaking new environments is the simple truth that, of necessity, such virtual worlds emerge from physical workplaces marked by negotiation, creation, and constant change.
These cues and signals used in physical workplaces to shape and influence perceptions do not map onto the remote workplace, which gives us a unique opportunity to study how office politics can be different through the lens of the officeless.
Lastly, while physical workplaces can be the source of meaningful friendships and community, recent research by the Wharton School of Business is just beginning to unravel the complexities behind workplace friendships, which can be fraught with tensions from obligations, reciprocity and allegiances.
This practice can be adopted by companies with physical workplaces as well (in fact, Zapier CEO Wade Foster borrowed this from Amazon), but it takes discipline and leadership to change behavior, particularly when it is much easier for everyone to just show up like they're used to.
