It is that time of the year!

Sure year-end festivities, but also our ‘Top three, 2022 Workplace Trends’.

As we are still reeling in with the pandemic, we sure can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The goal has always remained the same – To create the most productive space possible. This is primary reason, why we list certain trends that emerge as being likely to actually take off and endure.

So let’s explore what HIDECOR believes 2022 will be like in the world of ‘Workplace Interior Design’.

1. Hybrid all the way

Reducing the number of challenges and impediments to productivity so that employees can focus on individual or group tasks will be a big part of the conversation in 2022.

We know that flexibility in policies, procedures, and in the physical workplace itself are critical to an organization’s long-term vitality, hence a flexible workspace as well as a hybrid workstyle, has become an organic change, which is here to stay.

That said, optics are important and hence the physical workplace is now the new frontier for characterizing true flexibility.

With that, the new goal is physical change overnight at no cost to the organization.

How?

Starting with a modular approach to all the building systems including the planning module itself, but also the ceiling systems like lighting and sprinklers, building systems increasingly supported through the floor like HVAC, data, and power, and the walls and furniture that live in the zone between the floor and ceiling—all working together in a way that can allow the users to easily tailor the space to their very specific needs.

A team space can be created from solo seats, meeting rooms can reconfigure into private offices as a day can go from intense brainstorming to heads-down work, and it’s the users themselves that can make the change because the systems are planned to allow it.

2. Influence of Technology

As many companies transform into a hybrid working model centered around ‘choice,’ the dynamics of office space will shift toward fewer individual workspaces. Instead, there will be a new focus on generating more employee connectivity and community with work settings for collaboration, learning and sharing knowledge and social interactions bringing technology in the forefront.

This rise of the people-first approach welcomed the introduction of IT lounges where an individual receives personal service as opposed to online help desks (where frequently it seemed conversations would go in circles to little avail).

The next stage in this process is the implementation of a roaming facilities team, who address facility issues in person, in real time. These teams are equally proactive in engaging with employees regarding audio and video (A/V) challenges as well as other facility and community issues and events.

3. Healthcare remains paramount 

Research has shown that keeping the cognitive load low by applying palettes, finishes and graphic choices that tend toward the neutral can contribute to improvements in patient outcomes, presumably by reducing the amount of anxiety-inducing stimuli, and perhaps even more importantly, distractions.

As workplaces are taking cue from this, Hospitals are in the forefront of jumping on this trend.

Especially with Hospitals, and their encounter with the Pandamic, have promoted a major shift. They have started to think about creating spaces that present fewer challenging stimuli, to avoid cognitive overload which can be detrimental to a healthcare mission.

A truly supportive and inclusive workplaces where everyone is optimally productive is dovetailing with current trends in supporting wellbeing and emerging trends in accessibility.

Talk to us to design your next.