I’m frequently asked, “What’s happening in office design today?“
The global answer is MASSIVE CHANGE. The ways of the past don’t work anymore. There is a huge focus on increasing the efficiency of the team, a drive to open the office and make it more accessible, and new initiatives to remove or tear down silos. Organizations are focusing inside to determine how their organizational operations may negatively be impacting their culture. And, according to Nilofer Merchant and the Harvard Business Review, “Culture trumps strategy every time.”
Company leaders have discovered that transparent and consistent communication is the path to innovation and that turf wars impede progress. While real estate costs continue to increase, companies are focused on how to leverage their real estate to work harder for them. They want their offices to support and fortify their culture as David Caldwell reminds us, “Culture glues an organization together”.
The work environment must support the work that is being done. And what’s important for companies today is the ability to provide meaningful choices for individuals as to where, when, and how they work. The flexibility must exist to not only recruit and retain, but to allow the team to work effectively. Not only is collaboration important but so is the ability to focus and do “heads down“ work.
Today’s work life is really about WORK, LIVE, AND PLAY. Workers want a blend of all three. It’s wonderful to live near work, to easily and effectively commute to work, and have opportunities to play before work, at work, and after work. Today’s most successful spaces have easy access to the outside, or are adjacent to exterior working and activity spaces. Attractive amenities must be available to the office environment like fitness centers, conference centers, outside lounge areas, eating and collaboration environments, coffee shops, dry cleaners, and day care.
We see less hierarchy in the office environment today and more attention played to giving everyone a view of what’s going on within the office space. The “FOMO“ (fear of missing out) syndrome means that all things should be relatively visible to all. Thus, more walls are glass, there are fewer solid doors, and there is heightened transparency both in interior construction and the management approach. There is a heightened focus on safety and security with attention as to how to ensure these elements are not obtrusive. No one wants to work in a fortress but we all want to feel secure. And because work is now literally 24/7, proximity to mass transit is critical for today’s worker. Shared cycle programs are now the norm in campus environments.
The latest direction is based on a WELL certified environment. A healthy interior environment focuses on the health and wellbeing of the occupants. Features like sit-stand computer options, ergonomic seating, convenient wellness areas, attractive stairwells for walking, and internal exercise facilities and medical clinics ensure that the staff knows management cares about their good health and wellbeing.
The work environment is becoming a more vibrant and healthy place. It is very rewarding that more companies care about bringing together energy and ideas and creating spaces that foster individual wellbeing and the sharing of emotions and intelligence. This is truly where innovation will flourish.
Jo Staffelbach Heinz is president and principal in charge of Staffelbach, a Dallas-based interior design firm.
