Before the pandemic and the introduction of hybrid and remote working arrangements, employees often made their desks a second home - photos of the family on the desk, a coat slung over the back of a chair, a favourite mug by the keyboard. And by making their desks their own, workers created a sense of familiarity, which was reinforced by a sea of familiar faces around them and colleagues who also had permanent seating arrangements.
However for many employees, the new hybrid workplace has put an end to the full-time, 9-to-5 office setting. With the rise of hot desking, working from home, working remotely, and flexible work schedules, people are no longer benefitting from having personalised work environments. And not only that, some workers and business leaders alike worry that hybrid offices risk becoming impersonal, sterile and underused – not a place many employees want to be.
In response, forward-thinking employers are reconfiguring workplaces and increasing space efficiency to best benefit how people work in agile settings. Rearranging some workstations won't be enough to create an effective arrangement for the office. The reconfigured workspace must to be planned to accommodate changing working habits and developing technologies. In this article we’ll look at a few top tips to help businesses get the most out of the workplace and their employees.
How to maximise the office space
Performance and productivity are directly linked to the office environment and workplace design. In fact, the modern office, when arranged correctly, has the power to inspire employees to new levels of insight and innovation. Businesses are now including elements in their office environment that actually improve the way their teams operate and the work they do there, which hasn’t always been the case.
The secret to maximising space efficiency and providing a setting that enables employees to be productive is to combine smart workplace technology, office furniture, and a thorough awareness of employee needs. The use of data in the modern workplace is changing to focus more on efficiency and the human experience. Employees may never have a desk that feels like theirs again, but the trade-off might mean an agile office that works for everyone.
Multi-functional, flexible furniture
In most businesses, people want to be able to work where the inspiration strikes them. Modular and mobile furniture makes that possible and make it easier for teams to concentrate on finding solutions, getting things done, and moving the business forward. Mobile furniture designed for multi-functional use allows every team member to thrive, whether collaborative brainstorming, digital multimedia applications, informal meetings, or just taking a break.
Mobile agile furniture creates workspaces where people can work together and have the freedom and flexibility to work where they want, when they want. By creating a variety of semi-private zones within the office footprint for employees to collaborate, meet and share ideas, the workplace becomes a hub of creativity and innovation, with infinite possibilities in a single space.
To make meetings more adaptable and comfortable, provide multi-purpose seating and worktables in the common areas. A series of room dividers, acoustic panels and systems furniture pieces will also help to promote a more adaptable workspace. Create a productive work environment designed for maximum flexibility with mobile furniture that can be moved to create new spaces, giving workers and teams the opportunity to move, collaborate and work anywhere.
Effective, secure storage
As offices become more about collaboration and virtual workspaces, workers are no longer bound to a single desk, but they still need somewhere to store their personal items. It’s not easy to create an agile working environment that works for everyone, but storage lockers allow employees to have a personal space in the office, helping to prevent theft, reduce clutter and minimise the impact of desk transitions.
Lockers are an essential component of the new office landscape, and the modern locker tower system offers a flexible and secure personal storage solution that can be customised and used in any number of configurations to maximising storage and securely protect personal items. The storage units can not only help keep things out of sight but they also form partitions that create spaces for meetings and collaborative brainstorming sessions.
Dedicated work zones
Noise and movement, especially in large, open plan spaces, can seriously affect the focus and productivity of employees. Dividing the workspace into separate zones depending on different demands and goals can minimise the effects of noise and movement, whilst at the same time allowing other workers to collaborate with members of their team in a separate work zone. Create focal points that serve as a meeting place, promote idea sharing, or the formation of more casual working relationships.
Socialising is also a key component of creativity. Setting up a social space to be flexible in design can transform a chance meeting of four colleagues into an unexpected collaboration that brings about new ideas and new solutions. Include sofas, comfortable chairs, tables of various sizes, and semi-private meeting booths so that groups of different sizes can congregate. Have a look at the dedicated Social Spaces range of designer furniture from Dams to get all the inspiration you need!
Happiness and productivity
Collaboration is vital to business success, so it’s important to designate a space within your office environment specifically for this activity. Employees also recognise that a change of scenery in the office is an effective way to keep their creative juices flowing and their energy levels high. Businesses can incorporate this new mobility into the office layout by providing employees with a variety of workspace and seating options. Other inspiring design elements like vivid fabric colours and wood finishes, wall art, plants and natural lighting can also help motivate the team to greatness.
Agile offices are here to stay, with different types of furniture solutions and layouts for different forms of work and needs, individual and collective. Modern office furniture must be able to transform the space so that the office becomes a dynamic and versatile place, capable of configuring different layouts with the same furniture and adapting to different functions, whilst also making the best use of wireless technologies. Make the most of the office space and give employees the flexibility they crave to help maximise the team’s happiness and productivity.
