Over recent decades office design has evolved significantly. In the early days, new building methods allowed the floor plans of office to be significantly extended. No longer were planners limited by the limits of masonry. Instead, they could design large offices with row upon row of workers. This was bad for their health. In the UK and Europe, laws were introduced that meant that employees could be no more than a certain distance from a window.
There was a time when office environments were improving. But cost cutting meant that many businesses soon returned to type. Now, many startups are looking to change all that. There are already some important innovators in the space, like Innocent Drinks and Red Bull. And new startups are adding to their numbers all the time.
Environmentally Friendly
Forward thinking companies are constantly looking for ways to push the envelope when it comes to office design. And it’s changing the way that they approach the problem of the environmental friendliness of offices. It used to be the case that businesses sourced environmentally sustainable products for their offices. Things like sustainably sourced paper and recycled woodchip desks. But now companies are looking for ways to eliminate this footprint entirely. After all, sustainable office supplies still require gas lorries to ship them to their destination. Paperless offices and remote working are reducing the need for physical hardware.
Employee Wellbeing
Bosses of innovative startups are now looking for ways to improve employee wellbeing, as well as productivity. Both, as many are now realising, are intimately related. Designers are looking for ways to improve office spaces so that they are quieter and more compartmentalised. And many are investing in affordable conveniences, like shower pods, to help make the working day more pleasant.
Recently, the importance of employees having their own space in offices was brought to the fore in a study. It turns out that office workers can easily become stressed if they’re exposed to chronic, low-level noise. It’s thanks to this that we’ve now got the concept of a “box within a box.” Successful startups are now giving employees quiet spaces, as well as areas where people can come together to be creative.
Wireless Technology
In years gone by, one of the biggest problems for startups was wiring all the walls and doing the electrics. It was costly. And it had the potential to wreck the space. But with the advent of wireless technology, that sort of investment is no longer necessary. Most office-based businesses need little more than a few plug sockets. As a result, companies get the space they want, as a well as the functionality.
It’s not just electrics either. Just look at what the Pompidou Centre in Paris did when it came to its air conditioning system. Usually, air conditioning systems are ugly eyesores. But the Pompidou Centre saw them as an opportunity. Now they’re installed as beautifully as any other piece of equipment.
The bottom line is that startups need to create spaces in which people will really look forward to working. Offices must inspire a sense of joy, calm and creativity to get the most out of people.
This article was provided by ellie jo