Office designs and layouts are always evolving. As a business owner or manager, you should take every opportunity to implement new layout ideas that are better suited to the way people work today. Here are a few modern office design trends you should consider for your office to meet the needs of the modern office worker.
Activity-Based Working
Activity-based working lets your employees decide where, when and how they work. Your business lets staff members choose their work setting based on the type of task. Options include individual workstations, concentration zones and collaboration areas.
This workplace layout needs a variety of tools and resources to support different activities and tasks. Among the necessary tools for ABW are video-conferencing, collaborative software, Wi-Fi and network-attached storage solutions.
Brand Personality
This concept is based on the idea that office spaces should tell your business’s story through elements such as colour schemes and choice of furniture. The construction and layout of your office interior should help you share the story of your business to inspire your staff members and your community.
When your workspace reflects your corporate personality, your office layout gives your employees, customers and partners a strong sense of shared identity. It can also motivate your staff and make recruits feel like part of the family.
Supporting Good Overall Well-Being
As a small business owner, one of your top priorities is the health and happiness of your employees. Your focus on their well-being should be evident in the way you lay out your offices. The happier your people are, the more productive they’ll be.
The benefits of a workspace that supports employees’ well-being go far beyond productivity. People with a higher sense of well-being are more resistant to illness, recover more quickly, have higher pain tolerance, have a longer life expectancy and are better at solving problems.
Adaptable Office Layouts
Some of the best office layouts today incorporate agile and dynamic spaces. With these designs, your employees work in an environment free of ergonomic and physical constraints. Consider rearranging your space to suit the nature of your teams’ work and their preferences.
Implementing an adaptive office layout improves productivity because your workspace becomes more organic and comfortable. Having a flexible workspace makes it easy for your employees to switch between open, semi-open and closed spaces with minimal restrictions. According to the Staples 2019 Canadian Workplace Survey, each of these layouts has a place in the modern office.
