Somewhere between Dilbert and The Jetsons, our workplace changed. We went from private executive office suites and rows of cubicles to open floor plans and a mobile workforce. And, the pace of change has only continued to accelerate. Recently, business leaders began moving the success conversation from wealth to wellbeing. And, as a result, offices are seeing a renaissance and changing again to support the new way work is done.
The focus is all about you. Cafes are coming to life, becoming hubs of conversation. Multi-media rooms are transforming previously static spaces to allow for real-time interaction with remote workers. And, quiet spaces are being reimagined to support rejuvenation and ideation.
Office construction numbers in the United States support the underlying feeling that changes are happening. According to the United States Census private general office construction increased 19.9 percent in one year from June 2015 to June 2016. And, those numbers have continued to rise throughout 2016. IBISWorld’s recent market research report showed the commercial property remodeling industry is benefitting from large increases in demand. In the last five years, office rental vacancies have decreased and consumer spending on office remodeling has gone up.