5 Workplace Design Trends for Boosting Employee Engagement

1. Eliminating the clutter

This trend comes in the form of several common changes that are nothing new in themselves, but the benefits of employing each of these changes can be huge. With technology advancing faster and faster every single year, things are getting smaller and almost everything is wireless. With laptops, tablets and other mobile devices, it can become very easy to remove the majority of the wires present in any workplace, which makes the area much tidier and the absence of clutter will correspond to a higher level of worker satisfaction, which can only be a good thing. Take advantage of technology, and remove unnecessary cables and wires to make room for other, more important things.

1. Workplace flexibility

If your business involves a lot of project work, with today’s priorities being very different from yesterday’s and even more different from tomorrow’s, you will be able to yield the benefits of workplace flexibility. If your business delivers projects of varying shapes and sizes, large teams may be required to work together some days of the week, while on other days individual task management may prove to be more effective. This makes way for the implementation of flexibility in the workplace, allowing rooms, meeting areas and even corridors to be adapted to the current demands at any time. This can involve simple movement of furniture and the business practice of everyone being able to move around the office freely as and when they are needed.

1. Multipurpose workplaces

The idea of a multipurpose workplace flows well from the previous trend, and puts a focus on the ability of the staff to move around the office when they are required to do so. This could involve meeting rooms being used for large scale project discussions one day and the next day they may be used for brainstorming sessions for something totally different. The important aspect of this trend is that nobody has a permanently assigned workspace, instilling flexibility into the very job description of everyone at the company.

1. Creation of quiet zones

One often overlooked addition to any workplace is a quiet zone, specifically designed for those that want to escape from the hustle and bustle of the office floor to allow them to carry out an individual task. This improves employee engagement with their work and not necessarily the rest of their colleagues, but it can prove to be very effective as it provides staff with the option of an area that promotes higher levels of concentration.

1. Sit-stand desks

A final design trend that can boost employee engagement is another physical implementation; the sit-stand desk. This can not only improve the health and well-being of workers, but it will give staff more room and flexibility to carry out their work, whether they would prefer to be seated at the computer or standing up.