Putting people at the heart of the workplace
Interior Logistics recently attended the Next Generation Workplace Summit 2016 where we were able to discuss and debate new workplace innovations and how to best prepare for the future and create enjoyable, productive, flexible, people driven workplace environments.
Effective design is about putting people at the heart of the workplace, treating employees as consumers and delivering an environment that is inviting, lively, and most importantly, desirable. Building an integrated system of services, technology and physical places that enable people to be happier and more productive is the key to great office design.
There must be a strong link between facilities management, IT and HR, the experience for the individual has to come from a holistic approach. Making design decisions based on the desired experience of the employee forces systems and technologies to work more closely together. The workplace is also becoming an increasingly social experience. Workers are prioritising the social aspects of work and see an increasing proportion of workspace given over to social and community areas, where people come together to collaborate and play.
Research shows that few organisations are keeping up with the pace of change, and are not managing these environments with the employee at the centre. The future workplace is one that’s much more like a mixed-use environment, in terms of the variety of services and amenities available for the employee. Desk-based sedentary work will be replaced by experiences in which the boundaries between work, play, socialising and leisure are increasingly integrated.
