How’s your day? Was it constructive?
If you were to summarize how you’ve been spending your 2018 was it good, great, or the best year (so-far) ever? What office design did your company revamped or adapted? Was it effective? Did it boost your confidence, increase your productivity, and develop cooperation among your colleagues?
Or if not, did your company make an ideal workspace for you?
Is it quiet, comfortable, and do you get enough activity and standing in during the day, or do you just sit for 8 hours straight?
These are few of the vital questions that you will examine before embracing the rest of 2018 and the upcoming 2019!
Was the Prediction Realistic?
The year 2018 had listed avant-garde office trends making promises to change how employees interact, engage business owners, and retain loyal clients as well as attract new customers. Has it really done this? And what were the predicted as 2018 office design trends? Are they making relevant changes? Let’s take a second look at these trends which are clear in today’s office designs.
Hiding The (Messy) Wires
Minimalism IS IN. And with that comes improved organization and clean desks. Seems a little contradictory when we have SO MANY new cables and phones and tablets and laptops and gadgets we use. However, there are solutions. You can now hide and organize many of these cables by making use of a cable management system. It is always an advantage to see your office and your workstation free from mess, clean, and organized.
Have A Green (Nature) Offices
Going green and eco-friendly is making waves in the office design department. Some job requirements can be toxic and demanding that employee’s health can be at risk. A study conducted by Human Spaces, the use of biophilic (what a great word!) design – one that consider nature as part of workplace layout brings positive result such as an increase in productivity and creativity – a plus factor for employees. Some offices make use of green plants and natural lights or the use of LED lights and LED Desk Lamps. LED lights are energy-efficient, eco-friendly, and a money saver.
If green walls in not possible due to the available working space, you can start with ornamental plants that will brighten and freshen your office. It will also absorb harmful pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide while giving you a daily dose of fresh oxygen. Green walls bring nature closer to people. It’s like living in a forest while in your office at the same time. It will also convey an idea that your company is into preserving the environment by going green. Here is an ultimate guide to green walls if your company decided to make working more satisfactory and healthier.
Agile Workspaces
The present-day offices must implement the provision of a workspace that encourages movement in a day’s work. This gave birth to sit stand workstation and the use of standing desk. Some make relevant changes to how meetings must be conducted. Conference rooms are no longer confined in one area but it can be in an open space and this can be further converted into a collaborative open space for brainstorming and switch to height adjustable tables while having a standing meeting.
Technology enables the implementation of paperless office which comes in handy during multimedia presentations. For bigger areas, this can serve as a function hall, breakout area, or even used for special occasions such as insider’s product launch.
Inspiring Lounge Areas
A famous food from Japan has this catchy phrase “Have a break, have a KitKat” and it has a delicious (yes, it is actually weird and wacky) variety of flavors such as blueberry cheesecake, choco banana, and soy sauce (yes – they have it). It is relaxing to have a break even from the food you normally eat. In a day’s work, lounge areas will provide solace and rest (for brief time – only). These lounge areas will also serve as an antipode from your demanding workload.
This area is cool to the eyes and seems to invite openness creating an enjoyable working mode. Use this area as an open space for collaboration among cooperative workers, encourage intellectual stimulation from (sometimes) detached teammates, share resources, and ingenious ideas.
Here is a list of the top companies incorporating amazingly designed lounge areas as part of their working space. And these coveted (yes – you will die in envy – figuratively) inspirational office design makes your living room way behind in comparison (and you wonder is this an office?)
Want to know more office design trends in 2018 that are making an impact to the workspace? We’ll have an update for the second part of 2018 soon!