If you want to give your employees a new lease of life as 2020 unfolds, you should be careful not to descend into gimmickry with your office “improvements”. Yes, your workers might initially rejoice at seeing a cupcake vending machine or indoor climbing wall, but how meaningful would either be?
What you really want are features that encourage permanent, long-lasting changes in how your employees work day after day. Fortunately, you don’t have to look too far for inspiration, as the following trends have taken effect in the modern office and look set to stay.
Art
Kellie Sirna, the principal and co-founder of hospitality design firm Studio 11 Design, has told COMMERCIALCafé: “I think our whole team would agree that seeing more art in the workplace would be very exciting in 2020.” She has attributed several benefits to workplace art.
She has noted, for example, how displaying work of local artists can foster connections with local clients and draw attention to emerging talent in their area.
“Resimercial” design
You’re probably not too familiar with the word “resimercial”, a portmanteau of “residential” and “commercial”. However, the word effectively sums up what this type of design is about: combining aspects of both residential and commercial design.
Amanda Corso, Design Strategist at Infinity Group, enthuses that resimercial design “catches the user right in the emotional gut”. She insists that workspaces should support “qualities that we wish for in the comfort of our home with the balance of a professional work environment.”
Sustainable, eco-friendly spaces
More and more attention is being drawn to the issue of sustainability, and your company can do its bit to further spread awareness. You can make the workplace itself more sustainable by opting for sustainable fabrics or repurposing or upcycling furniture.
You can inherit existing furniture anyway by booking a supplied office, such as a serviced office from BE Offices, a provider which also throws in recycling points throughout – another eco-friendly win.
Organic, green spaces
This is about more than just adding a few plants to your desk – though, of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you remember to look after those plants. Dead leaves falling on your keyboard wouldn’t be pleasant, and neither would a lack of daylight or outside views.
Mark Hirons, Design Principal at CannonDesign, advocates “integrating concepts rooted in biophilia, layering and patterning, etc.” to “enrich the quality of the experience.”
Feng shui
What is feng shui? It’s an ancient Chinese art said to use spatial arrangement and orientation to channel energy, like that of success and productivity, into a physical setting. However, you don’t need to know too much about the art itself, just its principles for office layouts.
You should clear clutter like documents and to-do lists to spare yourself unhelpful distractions from your work. Meanwhile, sitting in a high-backed chair can lead you to feel more supported as you work. Also, hang up pictures that bring back happy memories, MobileMonkey CEO Larry Kim recommends in an Inc. article.
