The cubicle farms of yesterday are slowly eroding, as business leaders strive to create workspaces where talented employees actually want to spend time. Designers and architects are working hard to build the office—and office furniture—of tomorrow, and they say it will be customizable, collaborative, driven by data and oriented around wellness. Here's what's on the horizon when it comes to office design.
It will be personalized.
To better understand how to create furniture for the office of the future, the team at furniture manufacturer KI went back to college. They didn't enroll in classes, says Jonathan Webb, who is vice president of workplace strategy with the Green Bay, Wisconsin-based business, which has offices around the globe. Rather, they studied how students interact, study, relax and socialize.
Students, after all, don't have offices. They make use of cafes, green spaces and libraries, studying in groups or alone at all hours of the day and night. “College students were the original owners of work-life balance before the term work-life balance was ever even invented," says Webb.
To attract and retain young talent, Webb says businesses should consider where that talent is coming from. KI's latest office furniture line, called Tattoo, is inspired by its higher-education observations. Tattoo is a kind of “choose-your-own-adventure" set-up, where employees can customize how and where they sit, work, socialize and recharge. “Our research has told us and our clients have told us that every graduate they've hired prefers to work in groups," says Webb. Tattoo allows for that, and more.