Inclusivity and accommodating workspaces – how to make sure everyone benefits
Posted on 11th March 2022
In many of our recent blogs and posts, we have talked a lot about and mentioned the changing face of the office and how this face is a friendlier one. Post pandemic, we are seeing a trend from our client enquiries and projects as well as reading pieces from the office interiors world about how employees are wanting and asking for a friendlier office space or working environment. And with talk of 4 day weeks and working from home remaining a thing for some, employers and business owners are needing to respond to this need and want and therefore approaching companies like Sygnus to help make this transformation. It is all about being inclusive and accommodating.
Why has this trend come about?
Many if not all of us worked from home during lockdown and some for the first time and we got used to the comfier and more relaxed way of working. Including sofas and softer seating, sit to stand desks, kitchen and eating areas on tap and garden views. According to Facilitate magazine, meeting rooms, breakout areas and outdoor spaces are the most in-demand office workspace features. And according to the poll, three in five (60%) said having meeting rooms on-site was either “very important” or “somewhat important”. This was followed by breakout areas (59%) and outdoor spaces, such as a terrace, garden or balcony (58%).
Anxiety levels have understandably increased due to the pandemic and for some returning to the office is daunting therefore employers are needing and looking for ways to keep up productivity but in a friendlier and softer work setting. Hence the friendlier face of the office trend.
How can the office be softer?
• Such tweaks to an office or working space might include:
• Sofas and softer seating
• Pods for focussed individual working or for small group working and collaboration
• Breakout areas for more informal meetings and working
• Using sit to stand desks to encourage flexibility and movement
• Introducing plants and greenery to the space
• Open spaces for giving space as well as flexibility in its usage
• Washrooms and sanitising stations to offer a sense of security and hygiene
For ideas and examples of this type of office furniture, go to the site
And for brochures and further inspiration, go to the site
Who benefits from this style?
If laid out correctly and with the flexible and adaptable furniture fitted, the employees get a relaxed yet productive inducing space to work in.
For employers and management, you get your staff and teams back, happy and settled, therefore creating productivity and a sense of wellbeing. And if office furniture fitted is flexible eg sit to stand or pods or bench desking and so on, then whether your team is in the office full time or working in a hybrid way, your office space will accommodate such changes.
Everyone wins.
Share this post: