With a new decade comes a renewed focus on talent for workplace designers. Employers are beginning to better understand the value in hiring neurodiverse employees for creative and strategic thinking. They also understand that creating physical and digital workspaces, which blend the principles of universal design (making spaces accessible for the broadest possible range of individuals), and encouraging wellness are essential for attracting top talent and giving their business a competitive edge.
A recent study found that design can make employees up to 33% happier at work, and happy employees experience 31% higher productivity. The world is becoming more educated and interested in wellbeing and self-actualisation. As a result, we’ll see a significant impact on workplace design – from what working environments look like to how their function, form, impact and use are adopted by employees and client visitors.
As a consequence, there are several key workplace trends that will inform the creation of the modern work environment: supporting cognitive and neurodiversity, encouraging wellness beyond the physical, and the desire for user-centric design.
Supporting cognitive and neurodiversity
In 2020, we’ll see diversity expanding beyond race, gender and age to address neurodiversity and divergent backgrounds. We anticipate an increased drive for difference that has impacts across the workplace, including new hiring trends, inclusivity policies, increased flexibility, and fresh approaches to office design to support a range of employees. The most innovative companies will seek to attract candidates from varying backgrounds, with different experiences, education and ways of thinking.
A growing interest for authentic diversity and difference – and hiring beyond neurotypical parameters – means companies need to create workspaces that support employees across the spectrum and a culture that celebrates diverse brains and thought patterns. Expectations of typical behaviour should not colour how we see talent or define community.
In our modern time of rapid change and disruption, companies that continue to hire “birds of a feather” who all think alike will struggle to anticipate change, disruption and industry blind spots. Progressive organisations will seek out divergence in the form of varied thinkers that bring “rebel ideas” – ideas that challenge hierarchies and creates constructive dissent.