It might sound strange to say that we spend more time with our colleagues than we do our families, but this really is true for most people. If you work a standard eight-hour day, you’re spending a huge amount of your time ‘at the office,’ so you have a right to expect a pleasant work environment.

This is true whether you’re the boss of the company, a mid-level player, or on the janitorial team. We all just want to feel happy at work. Office architecture and design have a big impact on productivity and satisfaction levels. Good workplace design speeds up daily routines minimises downtime, and fosters positive energy.

So, if you’re looking for a way to take your business to the next level in 2017, invest in contemporary workplace designs and office fitouts.

Via tgdaily.com

Open office spaces have initiated the halcyon days of productivity. Or they’re a harbinger of workplace productivity doom. It all depends on whom you ask.

Open offices were meant to be the antidote to the woes of cubicle dwelling — a friendlier, more efficient and generally more human workplace. And while these office setups do come with some benefits, they’re also not without their shortcomings. As a result, open office plans have received a fair amount of backlash in recent years.

So do open office plans help productivity, or do they inhibit it? Turns out the answer is both.

Via business.com

2016 saw more companies look to their physical office as a strategic way to engage and attract talent, cultivate personality and stay competitive. No matter where you are in your workplace journey—just renovated, just thinking about it, or just not sure—here are seven things to consider as you improve your workplace and your employees’ experience in 2017.

Via officerenew.com

We have seen a rise in the number of office refurbishments over the last couple of years, most of them – not surprisingly – are open plan offices. Praised for creating an inclusive environment, open plan offices are now even incorporated in more conservatives institutes. In an effort to bond the team and invent new ways to collaborate and exchange ideas in more productive fashion, the companies of all sizes are moving toward the open plan offices. Google did it after all, why shouldn’t everyone else?

After the first celebratory drinks’ stains are dry cleaned off the new carpets and the novelty of the new office wears off, everyone who embraces the idea of open office too hastily, will soon discover that the office staff is getting distracted too much too often. While employees might feel like they are part a of a laid-back, innovative enterprise, the environment ultimately damages workers’ attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and satisfaction.

Via businesscoachingjournal.com

The design philosophy at IA integrates qualitative and quantitative research to develop a workplace strategy that informs our design decisions. During our process, we use a systematic approach when analyzing the integrated management of people, place, processes, and culture. Because, as we like to state, data + design = positive business outcomes.

Defining what we see for 2017, autonomy and resilience will be two of the driving forces of change to the social, political, economic, and technological climates and their inherent impact on the workplace ecosystem.

Via interiorarchitects.com

They’re sometimes called in-between spaces: those flexible places in the office that employees or guests can claim as their own when they’re between meetings or simply need a change of scenery. These areas may be enclosed or more exposed. They can resemble a living room, a library, a coffee bar, a gazebo, a reading nook, a porch—the design options are almost endless.  But what these diverse spaces have in common is they give workers options. They’re onsite alternatives that let people retreat from the group when they need to relax and rejuvenate, or focus on heads-down work. 

Via coalesse.co.uk >