Insights from the forefront of future of work thought leadership

Does a strategically placed fiddle leaf fig plant really help your employees to work smarter? Technically, yes, although a plant won’t achieve this on its own. More on the fiddle leaf fig later. The ultimate workspace design combines several key elements to create an environment where productivity, creativity and wellbeing thrive. A well-designed workplace is one that’s seamless; your employees interact harmoniously with their surroundings. One that facilitates focus, energy and efficiency. So as we begin to embrace the hybrid working model, there are ways you can optimise your workspace to not only bring your employees back into the office but increase their output at the same time.

Ask your employees

The first step is to speak to your employees – what do they like about the current workspace and what do they need to feel more motivated and operate more efficiently? At Axiom, our wrkx^TM data and strategy toolset measures the impact of workplace design on an organisation. We begin this process with an employee questionnaire – developed in collaboration with behavioural scientists – to assess how the current space could be adapted to help people work smarter. These insights tell us what is most important to the business, and what changes are needed, to deliver an intelligent design that motivates your workforce.

Place not spaces

Armed with your all-important employee intel, it’s time to focus on places, not spaces. Drawing on the principles of agile working, your design should offer a variety of purposeful places to suit the task at hand and/or individual preferences. In order to work smarter, sometimes we need a quiet place to think, while at other times we need a large, open place to collaborate. And after extended periods of working from home, employees are looking for an informal place to reconnect, relax and feel part of their workplace community. A workspace that pays homage to different styles of working can boost employee engagement and improve the overall enjoyment of office life. 

Engage, entice and thrill your employees

In addition to creating the right settings for tasks, collaboration and socialisation using the principles of agile working, there are other fundamentals to keep in mind. It’s all about designing dynamic workplaces which create the perfect environment for productive thinking. Here are some other elements to consider:

• Create the perfect atmosphere through a look and feel that is not only engaging but also aligned to your brand. Consider what feels welcoming and inviting - spaces you want to be in. Trends like resimercial design are especially pertinent as we return to the office from WFH.
• Bring in nature. This is where the fiddle leaf fig comes in; plants have many benefits including producing oxygen and adding colour to the working environment, bringing the outside in. Access to natural light is just as important and while facilitating this might mean a complete overhaul of your workspace, it could also be as simple as moving impediments such as office furniture blocking a window. Enhanced ventilation, essential in our pandemic recovery, has also been shown to help employees work smarter with direct links to alertness and cognitive ability. Increasing access to the natural environment is a key element of your intelligent workspace design.
• Design for intrigue and interest. Give your employees a brain boost by including elements that are a little unexpected: an outdoor BBQ area, game zones, a specialised lab or a tech zone.

So as people crawl out from under the ‘work from home’ shell, how do you create the workplace of the future? A place where your employees can reconnect, be efficient and productive, yet feel just as comfortable as they do in their homes? 

Gathering feedback is critical, asking your employees what they need will help make them feel valued, bring them on the journey and ultimately embrace their working environment. An intelligent design is a humanised design that recognises people need different places to work smarter – a diversity of purposeful places reflects the diversity of your workforce. And connection to the outside world, and the all-important benefits this brings to productivity and wellbeing, is just as essential as your floorplan. 

Find out more about the workplace of the future in Leading the Future of Work in Australia: Insights and Strategies

The pandemic has changed workplace expectations, unlike anything that has come before. But the appetite for change existed well before Australia’s first confirmed case of COVID-19. 

In 2018, SuperFriend’s Indicators of a Thriving Workplace report surveyed 5,000 Australian workers from different industries. 1 in 4 reported high stress in their current role. Of these, 1 in 5 said they planned to leave their employer in the next 12 months. These pre-pandemic figures hardly paint the portrait of a workforce satisfied with the status quo. 

If the world was walking towards the future of work then – it’s sprinting now. Two years of unprecedented disruption have changed the role of the workplace. As the workforce takes its first tentative steps back into the office, businesses need to work hard to keep pace with these employee expectations. Those who fail to do so may struggle to attract and retain talent in today’s competitive job market.

Here are the main changes and how your business can adapt. 

Spotlight on tech and data 

Tech and data will both have a transformative effect on the role of the workplace. 

Technology is already making workplaces more effective. Think of the impact platforms like Google Workplace, Slack and Jira have had during the pandemic (that’s not even mentioning workflow software like Trello, Monday and Asana). This software has been instrumental in managing projects and breaking down information silos. Post-pandemic, the continued use of these platforms will mean more time for creativity and innovation.

With staff likely to work from home at least once a week, workplaces will evolve. Videoconferencing is a great example. Software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have forever changed the meeting, WIP and catch-up. Hybrid working models cater for these technologies with bespoke meeting spaces integrated with these platforms, so remote staff aren’t penalised.

Data can also be utilised to drive workplace change. For instance, a company may realise that with hybrid working arrangements only 50% of the workforce is in at any one given time. The company would then be able to change to a hot-desking working arrangement and dedicate other space in the office to collaboration and creativity.

Focus on wellbeing

For employees who have grown attached to the lifestyle benefits of remote work, a focus on wellbeing is less of an added perk and more of a prerequisite. 

So, it’s encouraging to see businesses evolve to meet this expectation. 7 in 10 Australian employees now believe leadership places a greater priority on wellbeing. There is a range of benefits to be realised by this focus shift, from greater productivity to reduced staff turnover. 

It’s not fanciful to think of the workplace of the future as a positive space employees relish spending time in, rather than a space they return to with reluctance. To achieve this, business leaders and office designers need to consider a range of questions:

• How can the space maximise sunlight and fresh air?
• What measures are in place to encourage activity?
• Can the acoustics be changed to avoid excessive noise?

You can find inspiration in Axiom’s showcase.

Commitment to sustainability 

Just as voters are pressuring politicians for tangible action towards sustainability, so too are employees expecting greater commitments from their employers. 

A 2021 survey of over 1,200 Australian workers by Atlassian and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that 74% of employees think businesses should be just as concerned with their social impact as financial results (up from 69% from the same survey in 2020). 

There are many ways businesses can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, including:

• Going paperless
• Reusing items and having a recycling program in place
• Reducing energy with light-efficient fixtures and temperature regulation
• Adding plants and greenery to the office
• Working with sustainable suppliers.

The future is here

The role of the office is different, but it isn’t redundant by any stretch of the imagination. Businesses that recognise and prepare for this shift will remain attractive places to work. Explore more in our future of work in Australia guide.