Contemporary Offices Are Responding to Workplace Demands
The modern office is constantly evolving. First the traditional office gave way to the open office. Then the open office gave way to more flexible and dynamic concepts. The needs of top talent are ever-changing, and we’re constantly finding better ways to serve them with office designs and furniture that facilitate collaboration, enhance privacy, and increase comfort. Below, we’ll discuss some office furniture trends that we expect to gain traction in 2019.
1. Resimercial Furniture
Many companies have begun to find that the key to recruiting and retaining top talent is to make them feel comfortable in the workplace. One way to do this is to make them feel like they aren’t in the workplace at all. The resimercial concept in furniture is an approach to making the office feel more like home—removing the hard edges and blending a productive workspace with all the comfort of a modern living room.
One of our vendors Hightower, a leader in resimercial furniture, offers a host of products that can make employees feel at ease at work. Using wooden elements, warm colors, and multi-configurable designs, Hightower’s seating and surface solutions meet the needs of both a dynamic workplace and the human beings who make it go.
2. Phone Booth/Privacy Pods
Open office floor plans can be great for collaboration, but they can also rob employees of much needed privacy and focus, especially when they have to devote their attention to a crucial client call. Distracting background chatter can make phone calls or video chats frustrating, unproductive, and unnecessarily time consuming. The solution? Phone booth cubicles and privacy pods.
Phone booth/privacy pods are an excellent solution for short-term privacy. Most are made with sound-absorbent materials, which reduce echo inside the booth and block noise from outside. They can be integrated with IT infrastructure, and they’re compact and easy to install. They’re also easy to re-install; when you move into a new office, you can bring it with you, making them more efficient investments than permanent offices or conference rooms. They are an ideal getaway where employees can call a client or colleague or just focus on a problem without distraction.
One of our vendors Cubicall, offers a range of phone booth cubicles, from stand-up models that can unobtrusively accommodate a quick chat, to four-person meeting booths that allow for conference calls or focused huddles. Cubicall’s booths are furnished with sound-absorbent interiors, noise-reducing glass doors, data connectivity, and air circulation systems, making them quiet, comfortable, and private spaces for solo productivity. These phone booth’s can also be tied into the buildings sprinkler system.
3. Personal Harbors
Another solution to open-plan distractions, personal harbors allow employees to work in solace away from the bustle of the office. Personal harbors are high-walled seating units, upholstered in sound-absorbent fabric and combined with simple work tables, which can help workers to focus on a complicated task or simply take some important private time.
Harbor workspaces from Global Furniture Group serve a variety of purposes. Solo units allow employees to work in privacy, while collaborative designs let teams focus without distracting or being distracted by other employees. They include USB and power connectivity, interlocking capability, and come in a range of styles to match any office’s brand.
4. Speech Privacy
Getaway spaces are an important solution to open office distractions, but for many tasks they’re not a reasonable option. Employees and teams who work in a collaborative setting often have no choice but to work amid the clamor and din of a busy workplace. In this kind of environment, speech privacy furniture can be crucial to productivity.
Speech privacy solutions utilize various types of sound-absorbent acoustic panels to muffle ambient noise. They can be placed unassumingly around the office, affixed to walls or ceilings, or integrated with existing furniture. Long used in busy settings such as restaurants and waiting rooms, acoustic panels are becoming increasingly popular in modern offices.
Speech Privacy Systems has developed two popular lines of acoustic paneling for modern office spaces. Their Creo line attaches to existing walls and provides maximum sound absorption in a variety of styles ranging from the classic to the sleek. Panels in their Addo line hang from the ceiling and have the added benefit of providing visual privacy by forming a kind of soft wall. They are likewise available along a spectrum of designs that will fit any office’s aesthetic sensibility.
5. Endzone Tables
So far, we’ve focused on trends that enhance privacy, but collaboration is an increasingly common priority for the modern office. Endzone tables allow teams to work closely in an open environment for optimal collaboration and productivity. This type of shared space is versatile, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing solution that offers a change from your workstation. Tables can be customized to suit a variety of teams and tasks, and their simple characteristics help to create a pleasant atmosphere in the office.
On of our vendors Spec Furniture, distinctive endzone tables are perfect for any collaborative workplace. They offer power and data options, and their clean, minimalist design, available in a variety of colors and finishes, can fit any office’s brand.
