By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe
Companies began reopening their locations and returning to on-premise work in 2022. However, over the past two years, there has been a substantial change in workplace standards and culture. This resulted in a number of fresh office design concepts that spread to offices around the world. Commercial interior design has picked up steam once more now that we are back on track, with businesses investing time and money in designing their offices.
If you share the same sentiment and are seeking cutting-edge methods of arranging your workspace, Kunal Sharma, the founder and CEO of Flipspaces, presents 10 of the most popular office design concepts:
Ergonomic Furniture: Companies have moved over traditional desks and chairs. After spending some time working from the comfort of their homes, employees are no longer willing to work on conventional office furniture. The rickety old office furniture is now replaced with ergonomic and movable articles. More and more companies have started focusing on workplace ergonomics to make the work experience of their employees more comfortable. Installing ergonomic furniture reduces musculoskeletal injuries and discomfort. It increases the overall productivity of your employees and increases the rate of engagement within your organization.
Here are some of the significant ergonomic office furniture articles included in most commercial interior designs:
Sit-stand chairs
Adjustable desks
Chair balls
Bike chairs
Sit-stand desks
Standing mats
Movable Furniture Articles: Modern commercial interiors are increasingly sporting movable furniture articles. They increase work flexibility and help you move around your furniture with ease. Unlike large and rigid articles, movable furniture allows you to rearrange your furniture hassle-free. Moreover, movable furniture occupies much lesser space as compared to traditional rigid articles. This makes it an ideal option for startups and small businesses with limited office space.
Tech-integrated Designs: We live in the age of digitization. From the moment your employees enter the office until they punch out, they are surrounded by electronic gadgets and digital devices. To accommodate them and optimize the use of technology at workplaces, companies are incorporating tech-integrated office designs. These designs integrate technology with virtually every office area to make things easier for your employees. From smartboards and wireless chargers to electrical outlets embedded in every desk, tech-integrated designs are here to stay.
Biophilic Designs: While we have surrounded ourselves with digitization, we tend to leave nature behind. Modern civilization often depleted natural resources to build concrete jungles. Companies are making a small contribution towards mother nature by choosing biophilic designs while designing their interiors. Biophilic designs incorporate natural elements in office designs to prevent workers from getting completely disconnected from nature. They prevent your employees from feeling as if they work in digital dungeons all day without having any idea what it is outside.
Incorporating biophilic office designs improve the mental well-being of your employees and increase their focus at work. Here are some key elements that are often included in such designs:
Water features like miniature waterfalls and fountains
Potted plants
Natural materials like stones, bamboo, wood, etc.
Green walls
Colour schemes that are in tune with the nature
Textures evoking the feeling of nature
Open Floor Plans: After spending a good amount of time working by themselves remotely, employees returning to the office need to interact with their peers and feel the collective energy in the offices they work in. Open floor plans allow you to eliminate walls and physical barriers between your employees. Open office designs facilitate seamless collaboration between your employees as they can see each other while working at their workstations. It prevents them from being locked in their cubicles and creates a vibrant work environment.
Office Pods: While employees love interacting and collaborating in person, it is equally important for them to maintain their privacy. In co-working spaces and offices with open floor plans, it becomes difficult for employees to work in a quiet environment. This is where office pods come to the rescue! Office pods are designated enclosed areas capable of accommodating no more than one or two employees at once. These pods provide your employees privacy by keeping all the noise and distractions away. Whether they need to attend important meetings or work on a project with complete dedication, office pods give your employees much-needed privacy in a hectic workspace.
Hot Desking: Gone are the days when employees were stuck at the same desks throughout the year. With increased workplace mobility, there are no more permanent seating spaces for employees. Hot-desking allows workers to keep shifting between different workstations based on specific purposes. Here, your employees have a separate workstation to work on a specific project, a different workstation for working alone, and yet another space to relax and spend time with themselves. Hot desking is a reasonably new office design trend that keeps your office's heart beating!
Co-working Spaces: Companies are shifting to co-working spaces, with hybrid workspaces gaining more prominence in the post-pandemic world. These spaces are designed to accommodate multiple companies to work under the same roof while having their separate workstations.
Use Of Colour Psychology: Companies have started putting in a lot more planning in designing their offices than they used to. Colour psychology involves using colours in commercial interiors based on the specific emotional responses they evoke. For example, colours like green and blue have a calming effect on the employees. On the other hand, colours like red and orange evoke motivation and passion.
Green Or Living Walls: This can be treated as an extension of biophilic design, but it is much more prevalent in office designs. Green walls or living walls are walls that are wholly or partly covered by vegetation. Depending on the maintenance you can afford, you can choose to have natural or artificial vegetation on your office walls. Such designs instill a sense of freshness and give an exotic look to your office.
Make sure to provide your workspace with the appropriate balance of aesthetics and utility if you intend to return by unlocking the locks to your office doors. (SJ/IANS)
