Organizational Behavior - Workplace Stress/Cultural Understanding *URGENT*

What is the future of office spaces?

27 Jul 2018

Peter Beech World Economic Forum writer,

Innovative companies such as Google are renown for the quirky design of their offices over the globe. Image: REUTERS/Mark Blinch

A lot of us spend long stretches in the office, but outdated design could be damaging our wellbeing and mental health.

What’s more, it’s killing our productivity. One study found that office workers spend more time sitting than pensioners,

which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and even cancer.

That’s why forward-looking designers are finding ways to build spaces that heal rather than hurt us. Going beyond the

already ubiquitous standing desks and social “breakout sofas,” the office of the future is healthy, harmonious and happy.

Here’s how it’s beginning to take shape.

Go green

“Biophilic” design has been a buzzword in office overhauls since at least 2014, which in trend terms means it should be

totally over. Not so! With natural elements shown to boost productivity by 8% and wellbeing by 13%, it’s still all about the

green stuff – and this time, they want you to go further than a few half-hearted pot plants on the windowsill. In addition to

bamboo walls and nature-inspired swoops and curves, today’s offices are tackling the planet’s problems integrally through

green web hosting, grey water recycling, renewable energy sources, carbon offsets and locally sourced food.

Textural healing

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Research has shown that office spaces that mimic the great outdoors have a positive impact on staff happiness.

Fortunately, this doesn’t mean doing spreadsheets in a wind tunnel – a simple reliance on “natural” textures such as wood,

metals, textiles and stone will do the trick, with cement floors tipped to be big in the near future. With po-faced Apple

minimalism still all the rage, splashes of natural yarns in warm colours could be a way to reintroduce a playful side and give

the eye a break from all that grey.

Embrace outdoor space

In keeping with the above, companies are beginning to factor their office’s outdoor space itself into their functioning. If

stepping out for some fresh air can work wonders for your focus, why not go the whole hog and host an al fresco

brainstorming session in the yard? Probably more practical if you’re in Bangalore rather than Burnley, but at least talking

about it gives us an excuse to ogle Google’s proposed King’s Cross HQ, with its rooftop running track, wildflower gardens

and “fields” in which employees can unwind – and schedule meetings with envious clients.

Flex for success

Forget choosing between open-plan or cubicle, breakout space or conference suite – the real office space of the future is

“agile” and can be all of the above. Depending on their mood, workers may enjoy customisable surroundings and the sort

of interactive features that are proven to boost ingenuity, such as modular furniture, portable walls and removable

corkboards.

Homeward bound

With downtime increasingly seen as pivotal to the creative process, offices are reaching beyond the breakout space to offer

employees somewhere to really power down. We’re talking TVs. We’re talking sofas. We’re talking saunas. Google might

have gotten there first with its much-mythologised ball pool – its new London HQ houses a basketball court – but where it

leads, others are sure to follow. And with the work-life divide increasingly blurred, and extended stints the norm, that

chillout zone or games room could become increasingly vital to a workforce’s mental health.

Embrace technology

Are you entertaining clients from a virtual desktop? Can you walk business partners through floor-to-ceiling quarterly

earnings graphics – literally? If the answer is no, then sharpen up, caveman. The signs are that VR and its hyper-cool

cousin AR (augmented reality) are making their tentative, chunky-spectacled way into office culture. From reducing open-

plan distractions through virtual office walls to boosting training via in-field scenarios, the pair are set to revolutionize how

we work, create and coordinate – joining “borderless” infinity monitors and wearable sociometric devices on the futuristic

gadget list, all hopefully for the betterment of staff satisfaction.

The light fantastic

Workers’ productivity declines if they’re stationed more than 7.5 metres from a window, according to data sourced by the

International Well Building Institute. Just like those outdoorsy office features mentioned above, exposure to natural light

reduces anxiety and stress – and provide that crucial vit D boost so many of us sorely lack. Skylights and translucent

panels are a good way to let the daylight in, but they aren’t practical, it’s important to augment the shortfall in sun rays

using a host of nifty aids, such as tabletop UV lamps or natural-spectrum bulbs.

Go your own wayUltimately, what matters most in a 21st-century office is another ever-popular buzzword: individuality.

Gone are the days of those one-size-fits-all open plan spaces. The ideal workplace today is likely to be as idiosyncratic and

full of unique tweaks as the quirky startup it houses, with each re-imagining the norm in its own quiet way, making

employees feel valued and as if their specific needs are being catered for. And that’s just the way it should be. Because at

all times, we must remember that office culture is just as important as design trends – if not more so.

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When office supplies company Lyreco surveyed 2,000 corporate workers, it found that while half of them agreed that the

look and feel of an office affected their work, two-thirds were more concerned about a rise in stress levels over the last five

years. The most important factors for a successful office were a relaxed attitude, supportive colleagues and flexible working

hours, with a close-knit team and a good pension scheme not far behind.

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Written by

Peter Beech, World Economic Forum writer,

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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