Change is a constant part of life. However, the last year and a half has forced it on the office at a fast pace. The return to work has started and stopped and many companies have begun to consider that the office of the past may be gone for good. According to Global Workplace Analytics, 25-30% of the office may be working from home at least part of the time by the end of this year. While many studies show that up to 80% of the workers wants to be. It is clear that the office layout will need to rise to meet these changing employee needs. Modern commercial furniture can help create a hybrid office space for a safe, agile, and thriving team.
What is a hybrid office?
More workers are working from home than ever before. To meet this trend and the growing desire for this additional flexibility, companies are using the hybrid office model. This can mean many things in different industries, but what is constant is that the number of their employees are working from home at least one day a week. And the numbers support this hybrid office model. 72% of workers want to keep working from home at least 2 days a week. 74% of employees want the option to come into the office. 51% expect fewer employees in the office and more space for collaboration.
It is clear the pandemic has forced a change in the way employees work. This impacts how work spaces will be designed.
When companies put the physical and mental health of their employees first, a hybrid office is the best response. Fortunately, we are at a time when we have the tech to use with the flexibility and changes needed to create a hybrid office. It is clear the pandemic has forced a change in the way employees work, and this will impact how future work space will be designed. The new hybrid workplace puts the focus on wellness, flexibility, and collaboration, supporting both the employer and employee’s needs. Here are our top 5 modern commercial furniture themes to meet the wellness and mobile needs of your team.
The Hybrid Office is Flexible
Flexibility has been a key driver as companies have navigated the pandemic, and will continue to be as we navigate the hybrid office. Modern workstations are highly customizable. Not only can the colors be changed to reflect your company branding, but the layout can be adapted to meet the day-to-day changes of your employees. Whether you are looking for adjustable height desks, higher protective screens, or ergonomic chairs and keyboards, modern commercial furniture can adapt. This flexibility will allow employees movement throughout the day because each individual station can be adjusted separately.
To be successful in this new normal, businesses need to plan for and encourage collaboration.
Modern office cubicles facilitate a safe hybrid office. With the addition of privacy screens, there is protection for your employees and a separate space within an open floor plan. Our modern commercial furniture is made with cleanable materials such as laminate, acrylic, or markerboard that is easily sanitized. This creates ideal workstations that can be shared by multiple employees throughout the week. As flexible as your company was over the last 18 months, we recommend you remain. By using your floorplan creatively, you can create a workspace that allows your staff to work from home and the office seamlessly.
Modern Commercial Furniture for Hotdesking
The modern office has reopened. Strategic office designs put the health and safety of employees first but also business’s bottom lines. Even before the pandemic, much of the office space was underutilized, between employee sick days, flextime, personal days, and vacations. Now with the emergence of the hybrid office, strategic floorplans and office layouts need to include hotdesking.
Hotdesking means many employees use the same workstation. These unassigned desks, help to make sure that workerss can not only work where they feel most comfortable but are with the team that will advance their projects. This can be fluid and adapt to changing workforces as workers come and go on their hybrid schedule and duties as new teams grow. With new variants of COVID still affecting much of the world, this agile workstation could be a hard sell to some employees. Including modern commercial furniture with easily sanitized surfaces can help dissuade these fears.
Collaboration Spaces for a Thriving Business
To be successful in this new normal, businesses need to plan for and encourage collaboration. Companies have faced crises before. During the financial crisis of 2007/2008, those executives who prioritized collaboration grew their businesses and continued this upward path. Connection was the key to the workers not only surviving but thriving. The workforce is different now as more people shift to a hybrid office model. Building spaces for constant and agile connection can put your company on a path to success.
The addition of modern office furniture lets businesses create spaces that can move and change with your hybrid workforce. Collaboration spaces allow companies to bring experts with unique skills to solve the rapidly changing issues that continue to grow. Each person brings unique skills and background and this change in views can help teams find new and modern solutions to projects, assignments, and problems.
A Hybrid Office Requires Clean Surfaces
As the workforce adapts to the hybrid model and flexible seating options, cleanable surfaces will be a key factor to consider. New commercial furniture has surfaces and dividers that can be easily cleaned between shifts, days, or as workers move in the work space. Built with solid clean materials is the easiest to maintain proper sanitation.
Companies that will continue to thrive need to keep an agile approach to the work place.
Flexibility and mobility are key to production. Your new office needs to keep health and wellness as a focus. Office layouts should also include access to hand sanitizing stations at regular intervals to ensure that as employees move about the building to work in new spaces, they are keeping themselves and others protected. Even as the threat of COVID has decreased, cold and flu season is right around the corner and the workforce should be every company’s top focus.
Employee Comfort while at the Office
Working in the office is often very different from working in the walls of your own home. However, it doesn’t have to be. Make the switch to the office easy on your team. Modern office furniture can be as comfortable as your living room couch. These pieces can be used in your open office concepts, lounge areas, or break rooms. Create a nice area where workers can do their best work in the office while feeling at home.
A quiet space to focus in a home office is one of the perks that many workers love. Building quiet space in the office can bring these same space to your office. Acoustic furniture with sound-absorbing material or sound barriers can bring peace and calm to a loud office space. When it is time to focus, workers can chose spaces that will promote focus without being away from the team.
It is clear the shut down forced a change in the way we work. Companies that will continue to thrive need to keep an easy approach to the work place. This includes how the work place will be designed. The new type of office needs to put connection, wellness, and flexibility first. By supporting both the employer’s and worker’s needs, you can ensure worker productivity while boosting growth.
Now is the time to find modern commercial furniture and create a fresh hybrid office for your team.
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Want to learn more about building a hybrid office? Check out our complete guide!
