The latest workplace design trends are moving away from the purely aesthetic to blend the beautiful and the functional in new and exciting ways. Many modern designs focus on improving employee engagement and productivity through optimizing collaboration, focus, and efficiency based on their shifting needs. In this article we list 5 engaging design trends – along with a breakdown of different kinds of modular spaces for a workspace.
Read the full guide on engaging workplace design trends below or visit our workplace solutions page for further insights and information.
RIP workplace cubicles! Workplace design trends are evolving to better engage how people work. One thing’s for sure: decades of cubicle domination are coming to an end. This change is happening at a surprisingly fast rate. Top talent simply refuses to be constrained by congested cubicles.
Employers that understand this will dominate in the competition to attract talent in a shrinking labor force. The fight for top talent has generated a rapid transformation in workplace design. Knowing how modern office design stimulates collaboration and engages employees and is key.
Workplace design trends are focused on the changes needed by a younger, more technological workforce. The promise of modern workplace design: improved employee engagement and retention.
The Evolution of Workplace Design
Many factors are contributing to this massive workplace makeover. Chief among the evolution of workplace design drivers are:
- Changing demographics
- The increasing influence of technology
- Ongoing talent shortage
- Data on how design impacts employees
- Financial factors
Workplace design firms are harnessing this data to build a better place to work. Below is a review of how these factors are shaping the rapid pace of modern workplace design trends.
Demographic Shifts
Several demographic shifts have occurred at virtually the same time. This is rapidly transforming the qualities of the American workforce.
Millennials and Gen Z grew up surrounded by technology. Social media is central to their lives. This has had a major impact on how they work and what they want from their jobs. Millennials are highly motivated by peers. They crave collaboration, work best in teams and require frequent feedback.
They also have a strong desire to work with the latest tech. Millennials will make up 40% of the workforce by 2020. By 2025 they’ll account for three-quarters of all workers. This will continue to drive workplace design trends toward collaborative spaces.
Technological Advances
Tech has always transformed workplace dynamics. Laptops, smartphones and convertible tablets ushered in a new area of mobility. This, in turn, has transformed workplace design. New tech continues to transform businesses of all types and sizes. Think wearables, media streaming, and wireless charging. Cloud-based personal communication services. Content sharing solutions and productivity apps. It’s a list with no end in sight.
Talent Shortage
Demand for talent is projected to outstrip supply until 2021. Smart workplace design helps companies recruit and retain top talent. Firms must find ways to make their workplace as vibrant as possible to retain top talent. A majority of today’s skilled workers value factors influenced by design. Businesses with appealing workplaces will have an edge in attracting and keeping top talent.
Data and Research
The research is in. High-quality workplace design improves overall employee health and satisfaction. Physical surroundings impact our comfort, mood, and focus. Workplace design also affects our personal effectiveness. The proper design increases happiness and reduces sick days. It also boosts productivity, increases focus and enhances employees’ sense of feeling valued. Further, employees make a better life and healthy choices based on the quality of their workspace.
Evidence-based design improvements provide employees with improved satisfaction and heightened well-being. It reduces stress, provides easier wayfinding and increases safety. For employers, this research-based design improves occupancy and financial performance. It also increases employee efficiency and retention and reduces absenteeism. Industry experts predict that design based on data will be the workplace design trend of the future.
Financial Factors
The desire for fiscally efficient use of space isn’t new. For most companies, the physical workspace ranks second or third among top expenses. These days, though, it’s harder to anticipate space needs. Why? Rapidly changing workforce needs and tech innovations of course. Workspace expense thus becomes an even more pressing budget concern. Corporate real estate execs are tasked with improving productivity. As a result, they are placing greater emphasis on modifying facilities to support creativity, focus, and teamwork.
The Impact on Workplace Design Trends
This whirlwind of change is quickly impacting the structure of our workplaces. Impacts include workplace layout, furnishings, and finishing elements. The most functional spaces employ the latest workplace design trends. This includes those that are:
- Flexible, modular and future-focused
- Activity-based, blended spaces
- Designed to support well-being
- Uniquely appealing to employees
- Equipped for integrated technology
Top 5 Workplace Design Trends for Employee Engagement
Competing for top talent is one thing. Retaining them using modern office design is the goal. Here’s a look at the Top 5 Workplace Design Trends for boosting employee engagement.
Workplace Design Trend No. 1: Flexible, Future-focused Design
Traditional office spaces are designed for fixed use. This model no longer works for today’s business challenges. Modular, adaptable workspaces offer a solution. Flexibility for today and tomorrow is today’s leading workplace design trend. Flexible-use spaces make it easy to adapt to changing employee, project, and company needs. It’s an ideal solution for a rapidly changing world, where many essential positions didn’t exist five years ago and companies are hard-pressed to predict the job functions they’ll need in future years.
Flexible space and adaptable furniture make it easy to integrate new technology. This increases the longevity of workspace investments. Modularity is also an ideal fit for the social, team-based work styles of Millennials and Gen Z workers. For example, movable furnishings that fit together in many ways enable a more dynamic, interactive setting. It’s a workplace design trend with no end in sight.
Workplace Design Trend No. 2: Blended, Activity-based Design
Up-and-coming generations thrive in social, collaborative environments. Nonetheless, there’s still a need for privacy and focus. Open floor plans with a variety of functional spaces can provide an ideal solution. This idea of mixed-use space is the basis for workplace design trend number two. Blended offices offer a mix of private, semi-private, and open workspaces. This makes the most of the benefits of each type of space.
Also called activity-based design, blended spaces are also typically modular and adaptable as well. Blended offices divide and define spaces for work styles and tasks. Most modern workplaces include one or more common areas, meeting rooms, unenclosed breakout areas, and casual seating groups.
The most common types of zoned spaces include:
Multipurpose Workspaces – Multipurpose spaces offer easy-access options for interaction. These spaces include conference rooms, project rooms, huddle spaces and unassigned workstation seating. Personal offices with oval desks and community tables also fit the bill. Sizes are trending small. Huddle rooms continue to overtake the traditional conference room in popularity. Data indicate that 75% of meeting rooms are now designed for four people or fewer. Recognizing the continued need for some larger spaces, the ability to join rooms or open spaces is another growing trend.
Lounges – These comfortable spaces stimulate relaxed, impromptu collaboration. Social hubs of the modern workspace, lounges are a new norm and a recognized zone for meetings-of-the mind between departments and project groups.
Client Lounges – Many companies offer separate lounge-style spaces to facilitate more casual client and visitor interactions.
Shrinking Personal Workspaces – Mobility, ever-smaller technology, and the prevalence of huddle spaces have led to a decrease in the size of personal workspaces. At an average of 300 square feet per person in 2001, personal workspace size fell to 225 square feet by 2012. Continued shrinkage is expected to condense it to a tight 100 square feet per person.
Privacy Pods – These individual spaces provide a peaceful oasis for focus within open offices. They’re often strategically placed to block background noise and interruptions from passersby.
Quiet Zones – Amidst the buzz of collaboration-minded workplaces, companies are providing silent areas as part of activity-based office designs. These zones indicate the desire to avoid spontaneous conversation and concentrate without interruptions.
Collaboration Centers –Two-thirds of today’s workers say that they are more efficient when working closely with others. By providing collaboration enclaves with appropriate furnishings, acoustics, and technology, companies can maximize engagement and productivity.
Neighborhoods – Hierarchy is no longer a defining factor in workplace design. Function has usurped job title for space allotment. Forward-thinking companies are taking this concept further by grouping workers into broad zones. The goal is to encourage a shift from identifying the area as “my space” to embracing it as “our space,” creating a sense of belonging in a unique workplace neighborhood. Designers suggest using distinctive furnishings, lighting, and colors to brand each neighborhood with its own visual identity.19
Color Coded Zones – Harnessing the power of color to boost happiness, productivity, and creativity, companies are increasingly using color to define and organize functional spaces within offices.20
Workplace Design Trend No. 3: Designing for Wellbeing
The evidence continues to mount. Without a doubt, our surroundings affect our health. Design for wellbeing is a top priority for many businesses. Among the findings: prolonged sitting is a profound hazard to health. (You know, sitting is the new smoking.) On the upside, natural light and other elements of nature can improve health and productivity.
One suggested fix is to design spaces to promote movement throughout the day. Ideal features include sit-stand desks and strategic placement of endpoints. Sit-stand desks promote overall health and can reduce back, neck, and shoulder pain. They’ve also been shown to cut stress and boost productivity. Placing stairs, lounges, and restrooms away from workspaces encourages movement. It’s the same idea as parking your car at the far side of the lot.
Biophilic design is a subset of the wellbeing trend. It brings natural materials, light, greenery, and views into building design. The popular plant wall is an example. Don’t be fooled. This is more than an aesthetic trend. The use of biophilic design can improve productivity and creativity. It’s a workplace design trend with the potential to make a major mark on business success.
Workplace Design Trend No. 4: Employee Appeal
Recruiting and retaining top talent is a prime business concern. Millennials, in particular, seek workplaces that support their lifestyle. This often means jobs with inspiring, fun, comfortable facilities. Favored amenities include common areas and appealing food offerings. Workout rooms, outdoor break areas, and recreational chances also make the list. Modern furnishings and advanced tech can further sway an applicant’s mind. Combined, these features send the message that employers care about the wellbeing of their employees. For much of the talent pool, this workplace design trend can make all the difference in their job selection.
Workplace Design Trend No. 5: Integrating Technology
Technology in the workplace is nothing new. The trend here is to design offices that integrate digital-based business processes and tech. A top concern is concealing the masses of wires that accompany tech. In a Fast Company list of top workplace design trends, hiding wires topped the list. One designer quoted said that eliminating wires and clutter from desktops and conference rooms was a top client concern.
Companies are also seeking easier content sharing solutions. A chief concern is device-agnostic sharing for hassle-free meeting collaboration. By integrating tech into the environment, employees can get down to business quickly.
Wasting time in meetings is a chief concern in workplace design. Especially, the time wasted setting up for a meeting. Proper integration ushers in the business benefits of videoconferencing.
Getting setup without the need to fiddle with equipment is key. Furniture, workstations, lounges and huddle rooms must be created with connectivity and set up in mind. Common tech integration elements include:
- Built-in power and data
- Integrated wireless charging
- Interactive displays
- Easy-connect technology touchpoints
- Table-top touchscreens
- Articulated monitor arms
- Wireless streaming dongles
Workplace Design Trends with Impact
Our workplaces are in a state of rapid change. The reasons are complex. New generations of professionals. Faster, smaller, and more capable technologies. Greater insight into the impact of design. All this contributes to the direction of change.
Companies seeking to maximize efficiency, productivity, and profit will benefit from implementing flexible, activity-based workspaces designed to easily integrate technology and maximize employee well-being.
If you enjoyed this article you may also be interested in 10 ways to improve your conference room, or feel free to browse through our collaboration solution page for further insights into effective corporate collaboration.