Office Trends in 2021

With the world of working turned upside down in a matter of weeks; returning to the office was a challenge for most. The trends of 2021 office designs have been emerging in different ways in order to be able to adapt and cope with the new changes that have had to been made for a safe return to the office.

The trend that has remained throughout is open spaces; it has enabled social distancing to be implemented and also adapt for collaborative space(s), interaction and communication between employees. The open plan offices have encouraged productivity, skills and wellbeing.

Flexibility

Offices need to be flexible, it has gained traction within the last few months to enable business to encourage flexible working techniques for their employees. We have seen an exponential increase in the use of pods and meeting rooms, agile furniture and booking systems to allow staff to book tables and meeting rooms without reducing their work experiences.

Bring the outside in

Studies by Harvard University have shown that where there is more natural light it has a positive effect on people and their health. Increasing health reduces the number of sick days too! Bonus!

Glass walls or partitions can be used to reduce the natural light being cut off from the office workspaces.

Plants and biophilia are also a new 2021 trend that is growing with speed, natural plants create that homely feeling, improving the wellbeing and improving the productivity of employees. Plants produce oxygen, offsetting the chemicals released into the atmosphere from furniture, carpet and electronics, making it a happier place to work.

Wellbeing / breakout areas

Wellbeing is the new focus for a lot of companies. The pandemic has highlighted the value of our mental health. Offices are creating wellbeing, sensory, leisure and “quiet” zones where staff can go during their office hours to have that time needed away from the desk. This doesn’t have to be a showstopping games centre to give employees space to play, it can be a meeting room sized space with some chairs or even a rocking chair for staff to go away from the desk/screen and have some creative thinking, or down time.

Acoustics

We started to see this shifting trend at the latter end of 2019, but it has accelerated in 2021 – the need for improved acoustics. We have done a number of upgrades to offices to improve the privacy of meeting rooms, the acoustic reverb in communal areas and more. See our acoustic page for more information

Sustainable Design

Companies are requesting their design and sources of products are sustainable and maximise the use of recycled materials. One company in the Netherlands has created their office so the whole building can be disassembled and reused – take a a look here.

Where sustainable products have been used in the office, it has been proven that those spaces have better air quality.

Talk Furniture have an excellent selection of recycled, sustainable products that will suit your office – so please do contact us if you would like further information. 0118 9464100 or email on sales@talkfurniture.co.uk