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How Commercial Design Can Encourage A Return To The Office

With most workforces adapting to working from home since the pandemic, a spotlight is placed on office design and what facility managers can do to keep pace with new work styles.

Workplace Interior Shop’s Sales Director, Sam Hough explains how commercial design is pivotal to encouraging and supporting staff as they return to the office.

The Return To The Office

Whilst businesses weigh up the pros and cons of remote working vs in-office work, there’s no denying the abundant learning opportunities available in the workplace. For this reason, facility managers look to find simple solutions to encourage staff to back into the office.

Something as easy as updating the office design can create a welcoming environment for employees as they return. What’s more, smart design methods can accommodate new, dynamic work models, creating an efficient workplace where every space serves a purpose.

Introducing Hybrid Working

An office trend that emerged from the pandemic is hybrid working (a blend of remote and office based work). Workplaces that adapt to this model provide an agile environment that supports staff with individual tasks. The hybrid office focuses on a human-centric design, characterised by features such as formal and informal meeting rooms, breakout spaces, smart desking layouts and advanced technology to accommodate all styles of working.

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By upgrading the office interiors to support a hybrid approach, facility managers show they understand individuals needs within the workforce, addressing employee value, wellbeing and efficient work ability, offering the following opportunities:

1. Restoring Workplace Community

A compelling reason for a return to the office is company culture - it’s that catch up with a colleague or spontaneous conversation with peers that can’t be achieved through a laptop. After years of isolation and working from home, businesses can restore a sense of company culture using simple design details:

• Smart space planning is ideal to encourage collaborative catch ups or solo focused work. In a hybrid office, it’s key that no individual has ownership over a desk to encourage dynamic working.
• The office design is a great way to subtly incorporate company branding, using colour and art to inspire staff, impress visitors and create a strong sense of company culture.

2. Welcome Staff Wellbeing

The pandemic demonstrated the importance of taking care of ourselves not only outside of work, but in the office too. It’s down to businesses to find solutions to support the mental and physical wellbeing of their staff to ensure they’re happy and healthy:

• Ergonomic furniture provides vital support to staff as they work, whether it’s their posture at their desks or ensuring they take breaks with a relaxed breakout space.
• Biophilic design is an affordable solution that connects staff with nature. By bringing the outside in, employees can benefit from increased oxygen levels and the calming nature of flora and fauna.

3. Empowered Working

A hybrid office design encourages staff to return to the office by giving them trust and autonomy to decide how and where they are able to produce their best work. To support a diverse range of work styles, consider:

• Introducing focused spots within the workplace like reservable workshops or meeting rooms can achieve a balance of agile work areas for staff to complete their daily tasks.
• Acoustics can significantly impact an employee's choice to work from home rather than the office. Each workspace will require different levels of sound protection, using interior solutions to achieve this.

The office design is pivotal when encouraging staff to return to the workplace. Updating the workplace interiors with a hybrid design can go beyond welcoming staff back, even improving the way businesses work, for the better.