Future of Office Space
How and where will we work in several years or several decades? What challenges will employers and employees face? What will designers, architects or urban planners be expected to do?
infuture.institute and Skanska office company have once again undertaken to define trends related to the spaces in which we work and in which we will work. Our first joint project was the report “Living buildings. Office buildings of the future” indicating what the future of office buildings will look like. It included five different scenarios in the medium and long term. Now the time has come for entering the interior and looking at how the work spaces themselves will change and what they will provide to employees. That is why we are publishing the report “Future of The Office Spaces”.
Home (like) Office?
The Home (like) Office social trend is associated with the domestication of space, a trend that we observe every day, also in urban space. Domesticated office spaces can be described as the “third space” – something between a personalized space at home and a formal workplace which constitutes the company’s showcase. A half of the respondents to the quantitative survey expect this type of office space in the future.
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I hope that the results of the research – both quantitative and qualitative -presented in this report will inspire you to create offices of the future. It is very important that they are most friendly for the current generation, defined often as Indoor Generation. The research shows that we spend 90% of our time inside buildings, as well as in office buildings. How they are designed will determine our wellbeing, health, and efficiency and energy at work. However, the fact that the direction in which we are moving seems to be the right one inspires optimism.
Chillout zones – a good direction of change
Today, work and office spaces are becoming places where not only body comfort is taken care of, but also mental balance or actions aimed at eliminating stress are ensured – as indicated by the Human-Centric Office trend. 81% of respondents to the quantitative survey believe that chillout zones at work are a good direction for the office development.
Types of offices and user expectations
The types of offices in which users work affect their expectations towards space. Residents of coworking (92%) and open space (77%) are the biggest enthusiasts of integration and games zones at work. Also, social changes, especially generational changes and expectations of the youngest generations Y and Z towards work, as well as the development of the so-called gig economy – the economy of freelancers are not without significance. Today, work and office spaces are becoming places where not only body comfort is taken care of (ever more comfortable and ergonomic furniture: chairs, adjustable and personalized desks, physical activities, yoga rooms, massage rooms), but also mental balance or actions aimed at eliminating stress are ensured (education in the field of life energy management or emotions and stress management). The importance of a holistic approach and ensuring a sense of general psychophysical wellbeing of employees is becoming a hot issue.
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By placing people and their needs at the heart of our interests, we can simultaneously strive for sustainable development of the company. Therefore, at Skanska we aim to implement only low-emission, and in the near future, zero-emission buildings, thereby acting for the benefit of human, the environment and future generations.
How do we care about wellbeing?
Such factors as daylight and proper accoustics also affect employees’ wellbeing (of body and soul). The respondents to the quantitative survey conducted for the needs of the report indicated that, for their wellbeing, their workplace should be at the window (91%).
The research of infuture.institute shows that everyone, regardless of age, gender or office location, likes green spaces. As many as 82% of respondents to the quantitative survey conducted for the purposes of this report declared that they like when there are flowers and plants associated with the Sustainable Office trend in the offices.
The report highlights 6 trends:
- home (like) office
- human-centric office
- sustainable office
- simply connected
- hybrid office
- Neighborhood-bound office
