At a time when corporations are shifting their strategies to put more emphasis on innovation and creative competitiveness, office designers play an important role in providing the right settings to support that creative work.
And creativity, said James Ludwig, Steelcase’s head of global design and product engineering, “requires both convergent and divergent thinking, with people coming together in small or large groups, and moving apart to do work alone.”
This coming together and moving apart brings a kind of rhythm and balance to the workday: group time then alone time, extrovert mode then introvert mode.
To support these different work modes, companies need to offer their employees a range of settings to work in—and not just places for quiet versus spaces for conversation, but also places that accommodate a variety of postures.
Lounge postures are a critical part of the mix. These are seated or reclined postures that have a relaxed, casual feel, no desk in sight. By offering comfort and supporting freedom of movement, lounge environments promote workers’ physical, cognitive and psychological wellbeing, with benefits that carry over to the organization.