It’s fair to say that the last five years have not been the smoothest in history and the workplace is one of the areas that recent events have had the biggest impact on.
For many organisations, their office is now used in a fundamentally different way to how it was before the pandemic.
Our partners MillerKnoll have been using research from Future Forum to work out what is now important when it comes to creating the perfect space.
They suggest that we should ‘Design With Impact’ in order to attract people back to the office and away from the comfort of their homes.
In the previous blogs in this series, we looked at the first two areas MillerKnoll highlighted, wellbeing and connection. Here we examine the final aspect - change.
Change has become inevitable, and it‘s the firms that design for change that will retain the best staff and be the most successful.
But what kind of change is MillerKnoll talking about? Well, there are many aspects of change within a workplace that need to be factored in:
Flexibility – This is not just in where work takes place but also how it gets done.
Testing with Pilots – Trialling new spaces and layouts to make sure they work for an organisation and not being afraid to be re-jig them if they don’t work.
Adaptable Spaces – Intuitive furniture that can be reconfigured helps optimise spaces depending on what they are being used for.
The overarching idea is that people should have choice so they can change their setting throughout the day whether that’s through modularity or user adaptability.
These products are just some of those that Wellworking can provide to help create adaptable or modular spaces:
The crucial point MillerKnoll make, is however an organisation navigates change to repurpose an office space, it has to involve its people.
Including staff in all aspects of office design brings together all three of MillerKnoll’s key parts of ‘Design with Impact’ – wellbeing, connection and change.
Involving people creates a sense of belonging which promotes wellbeing. Communicating with them fosters connection. All of this helps the organisation to navigate change successfully.
If you would like help to ‘Design with Impact’ at your workplace then get in contact and we would be delighted to work with you to create a space that helps your staff, and therefore your business, thrive.
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