If you are currently planning to refurbish your office or you need a complete fit-out, we have compiled a few ideas on the latest trends we have seen so far in 2019. Regardless of the space that you are working with, we are sure that you will find inspiration and a few ideas on how to improve your current office environment. When your workforce is happy, they are more productive. With this in mind, there are a couple of key improvements that you can use to make sure your employees and coworkers work in an environment where they can feel happy.
1. Think About Creating Experience-Driven Spaces
When it comes to designing offices, many businesses are more focused than ever on creating spaces that are experience-driven. Including fun and quirky breakout spaces happens to be one of the easiest ways to improve staff morale. Regardless of the budget, you are working with and the office size, it is important to implement a space that is separate that will allow your staff to relax and kick-back. In addition to that, you can use this space to host informal small meetings, making this area multi-functional. Below are a few innovative ideas that we have seen implemented into office designs for commercial companies:
• Private Cubicles With Soft Furnishings
From bean bags to garden-style, low-level seating, or even a shipping container that features glass walls, creating a personalised space is an excellent way to help your staff re-energise.
• Gaming Zone
Here the sky is the limit. Some popular ideas include retro-arcade games, ping-pong tables, or even a snooker table.
• Coffee Stations
Sterile kitchen environments are outdated. Keep up with the times and think about implementing a coffee-shop style tea and coffee making facility with island seating.
• Library Area
This area could include books, magazines or even TV screens. An area that is quiet where staff members can retreat to helps to restore the senses and relax the mind.
2. Privacy Really Matters
Open-plan office spaces was a standard that began as far back as the 60s. Many companies carried on with this space-saving approach, with the add ons of a separate conference or meeting room. Yet in today’s society which is more mindful, many companies have invested in modular booths or privacy pods, allowing staff members to work in a collaborative way in spaces that are more focused. When using your office spaces in a strategic way, including privacy booths and office partitions should be easy to achieve and straightforward, even for the medium and smaller sized businesses.
3. Make the Most Out of Light and Space
The days of artificial dim lighting and blue or grey partition walls are long gone. The offices of today feature glass-partition walls, which break up the corporate spaces of all shapes and sizes. This type of glazing helps to preserve natural light and acts as effective soundproofing. The suspended ceilings are also increasing in popularity, which allows for lighting options that are more flexible which works extremely well with the glass-partition walls.
4. Focus On Wellbeing and Health
The WHO (World Health Organization) has stated that by 2020, mental-health disorders and cardiovascular diseases will become responsible for most of the non-communicable diseases. Business owners that are forward-thinkers have become mindful in association with ways to improve working environments for staff members, in the way of focusing on ways to improve wellbeing and health.
This has paved the way towards biophilic designs along with implementing elements that are soothing which include living walls into these office designs. This is a concept that recognises that in the urban world that we live in today, most of us have lost our true connection with nature. When you include natural elements into your office environment it goes a long way towards lowering blood pressure, heart rates and stress, while significantly improving creativity and productivity.
Vertical or living walls will grow plants on either a substrate or soil and typically comes with a built-in irrigation system. This design is not just aesthetically pleasing but also assists with controlling humidity and heat and improving the air in your office environment.
5. Ensure That First Impressions Really Do Count
The reception area to any office is the most important space to include the correct impression of your business to customers and clients. This is where you show everyone about the services, culture, and ethos of your business.
Today many companies have swapped out plain seating areas for statement and quirky pieces, along with incorporating features such as digital-wall images or living walls. The introduction of charging stations has also become increasingly popular which shows your customers and visitors that your business keeps up with the times and that you put the needs of your clients and customers first.