Workplace Trends for Forward Thinkers

April 26, 2017  

Design considerations that place human health, happiness, and wellness at the forefront 

 

CULTURE + BRANDING

Creating an office space that removes hierarchical structures and adopts a team mentality, offers task based workspaces, and promotes socialization and healthy lifestyles. Supporting a culture that values their employees and clients, is committed to enhancing their health and wellbeing, and promotes a balanced work/life atmosphere all have become valuable assets to organizations in the retaining and recruitment of talented productive employees.

FLEXIBLE SPACE 

“Activity- based working” has monopolized the design thinking for our workplaces.   People spend less time at their desk, therefore personal workspaces can shrink. The use of compact technology has greatly reduced space requirements. The need for personalized workstations have decreased in lieu of working together; collaborating and brainstorming, allowing for hoteling and desk sharing. This notion contributes to increasing flexible, collaborative spaces and density to eliminate unnecessary square footage and lower rental costs

BALANCED ATMOSPHERE 

The workplace needs to be a balanced atmosphere for collaboration and personal focus and research. Ensuring the benefits of an open office space through consideration and implementation of proper acoustics is an important aspect in the design stage . An increase in productivity and value comes from a well designed workspace which balances the trade off between open areas and noise levels with acoustical considerations of task based work spaces. 

 

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Designing a workplace for and with the users is the key to a successful project with the ultimate goal being occupant satisfaction. Understanding worker profiles and the company culture is the first step to a winning design strategy. In order to achieve a thorough understanding, employees and staff will be engaged in the early stages  of the design process through conducted surveys, user feedback, and presentations of options.

 

WELLNESS

Human beings are by nature social creatures. The benefits of socializing, team building activities, and group exercise have been recognized by successful businesses around the world from professional sports organizations to financial institutions. Making room for these activities to take place is an important component of a well designed workplace. Understanding the impact our buildings have on human health is critical. We take into consideration the WELL Building Standards 7 Principals: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort, and Mind.  

 

DIGITAL INTEGRATION 

Digital integration has allowed the workplace to evolve significantly. Technological space management tools such as AV capabilities, meeting room bookings, lighting control, calendar invites, charging stations and cloud based servers have increased mobility throughout the workplace. This flexibility has allowed design for activity-based working to be a possibility introducing concepts such as hoteling, touch-down stations, and collaborative workspace.