A shift in work attitudes, health and safety expectations and – most importantly – an emphasis on the value of employee wellness have brought about massive changes in workspace design with the focus on creating a balanced and healthy office environment or well-functioning biome. At Inhouse Design, we think a healthy office environment is key to productivity and employee fulfillment.
Where we are at
Our post pandemic world is demanding that office biomes function better and are more focused on creating healthier and happier environments for the people who operate in them. Just as smart homes, with their remote alarm, air conditioning and water irrigation systems are a reality, smart offices are here to stay.
A return to the workplace after the pandemic was inevitable, and so too is the knowledge that the workspace as we knew it before 2020 may never be the same. We use insights gleaned from their Ergosense data capture system to rethink and design optimal work environments for their clients. Aside from taking office layouts and spatial elements into account, other factors such as lighting, temperature, noise and even hygiene are also paramount in creating a healthy, happy workspace. Ergosense monitors also scrutinise new builds so that relevant responses can be implemented timeously.
Home comes to the office
With a growing number of staff returning to offices more focus is being placed on creating environments that are conducive to employee wellness. Working from home has changed employee needs and expectations, and this has had a significant impact on office design with the creation of hybrid spaces that incorporate and embrace home elements, creating a sense of comfort and putting an emphasis on employee wellbeing. We spend a lot of time focusing on the psychology behind the architecture of a space – how and how to make people feel good in a space is our major driver.
How future offices could work
One major change is that highly desked offices of the 2000s are set to be replaced with more flexible spaces. Privacy is also making a comeback, with smaller pause areas and we are creating more pods where people can work or talk discreetly without being part of a loud and often unproductive open plan space.
Online meetings mean that breakaway rooms now trump boardrooms and glass-walled offices with doors are becoming popular, allowing people to get on with work without being interrupted unnecessarily.
We are excited to be part of an integrative approach that marries technological considerations with practical requirements relevant to the humans who operate within them and look forward to seeing how thinking around healthy office biomes develops even more in the coming years.
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