With 2017 now a distant memory, we’ve been starting to look forward to the office design trends that will dictate in 2018. One trend that we believe will be making the headlines this year is ‘wellness’ - a concept centred on employees enjoying and benefitting from their experiences at work and, in-turn, being more productive for the company.
It’s been widely determined that office wellness equals happy employees, and happy employees are proven to be 12% more productive! Happy offices also outperform their competitors by 20%. Facts we really shouldn’t ignore. But how can we achieve this?
Here we highlight some of the key features of this growing wellness trend that can help transform your workplace in the next 12 months:
1. A little bit of nature goes a long way
On average, people are spending a third of their lives at work, so the idea of making it a space that benefits us is naturally one that is gaining a lot of attention. A rapidly growing part of the wellness trend is adding nature into offices– a concept called biophilic design.
Biophilic design is based around a scientifically proven philosophy that we all have an innate connection to nature and, therefore, benefit greatly from its presence. Biophilic design at its core uses nature in places where nature is not easily attainable such as offices, in order to give workers access to the natural elements they need to function healthily.
2. Providing home comforts
Another key wellness trend of modern-office design is changing up the decor to provide more home-style comforts. It is believed that alternative office spaces could produce more alternative, creative ways of thinking. This can be achieved by using comfy bean-bags or sofas, relaxing lighting, lamps, fun décor and in-house leisure facilities like games rooms. Offering employees the choice of where and how within the workplace they want to work encourages more free-flowing creativity and, therefore, happiness amongst them.
3. Creating communal spaces
Gone are the days of partition walls separating us, many offices are now moving towards more open-plan designs that encourage interaction amongst their colleagues of all levels. Working collaboratively is another large part of the wellness trend that’s set to grow ever-stronger in 2018.
Businesses have found that people are both happier and more productive when they work together; and after all, many hands do make light work. So transforming your office into a more open, face-to-face and shared space is an excellent way to encourage interaction, inspiration and collaboration, leaving people feeling happy to go into work each day.
4. Using spaces dynamically
What could be more encouraging than creating a space that’s dynamic and can change with its employees’ needs?
As our sedentary lifestyles are increasingly blamed for a variety of problems, offices are now looking at dynamic spaces which facilitate movement to help encourage well-being. While you may think standing desks look culturally odd in some workplaces, these innovative products are set to have a significant impact on the way we now furnish our offices. As the average office worker is estimated to sit for around 10 hours each day and 73% of people only leaving their desk for bathroom or tea/coffee breaks, products like this help to encourage movement and a healthier lifestyle.
There are benefits in moving with the times!
Each of the above elements contributes to the wellness trend set to take-off even further in 2018. As new generations of employees enter the workplace, their expectations differ, so to maintain their loyalty and commitment businesses need to find ways of attracting them.