At this time of year, we look back on what has happened over the last 12 months and 2018 did not disappoint when it comes to the buzz around workplace design and strategy. A Harvard Study entitled “The Unintended Effects Of Open Office Space” was released, seemingly proving and quantifying the elusive question of “does open plan work?” This prompted a lot of discussion on the pros and cons of open plans. Of course, all academic studies should be rigorously vetted, and our favorite response to the study was from our colleague Kate Wieczorek.
In 2018, I don’t think there has been a day where co-working and flexible work space haven’t been in the news, and most recently an article on challenging notions we hold to be true – such as the health impact of sit/stand desks. With so much up in the air on what truly works for staff and organizations in their workplace, the question we ask now is – what will 2019 bring?
At Ted Moudis Associates, we took it upon ourselves to sit down and brainstorm trends and predictions for the workplace in 2019. After a lengthy debate and analysis, we came up with the following:
1. Authenticity
As employers are competing for the same talent and employees place more importance on working for companies that align with their personal core values, authenticity becomes an increasingly important component for an organization. Employees are demanding transparency and honesty from their organization’s leaders, and this transparency is being reflected in the workplace’s physical design. Companies also need to be true to themselves and their own values and figure out how they want to be known and represented as an organization. When a space is designed that is authentic and genuine, employees are engaged and the space will thrive. Space on its own is not going to create the right culture. Amenities that work for one company may not work for another. Authenticity not only needs to be exemplified within the design of the space, but also extending to the organization’s policies, as well as the opportunities for staff.
2. Back to Basics
In a world of where we are consistently flooded with information and data, there are always new fads surfacing as the “latest and greatest” elements to incorporate into your workplace. We predict that design and planning will circumvent the noise of the latest fads to go back to focusing on basic human needs. Instead of “latest and greatest” it will be “tried and true.” The true things here are basic human needs – air, water, food, shelter, sleep, security. This is a nod to your early schooling days or Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. When evaluating the latest design “trend” to incorporate into your workplace, using basic human needs as a compass for alignment will serve as a validation tool to prove it to be worthwhile endeavor to pursue, rather than simply just a fad. Don’t try to do too much. Analyze what your needs really are and go from there.