The modern office is a concept that aims to make the most of office space whilst getting the best out of office workers.
The space in which we work has never been more considered, as businesses look for a competitive edge to save time and money and to boost employee wellbeing with the best working environment and facilities.
With many people working from home during the Covid pandemic, the idea that offices, retail and home are all separate entities, has become clouded and each outlet can have a range of uses.
That was borne out by research from furniture manufacturer Actiu, in 2020, which revealed that 77% of people being surveyed felt the worst aspect of working remotely, was the lack of social and personal relationships.
The reports also indicated that 73% of people wanted to return to the work environment, but with an element of home working during the week.
Such philosophy is driving a cultural change in the way offices are configured, with more of an emphasis on the worker and their wellbeing.
How does workspace boost your business?
If your workforce is your best asset, why wouldn’t you want to get the most out of your team?
The workspace plays a huge role when it comes to inspiring employees, motivating and maintaining wellbeing. The best ideas, the most dynamic thoughts are often created when we collaborate and debate.
Developing the perfect workspace to let those creative juices flow can be hugely influential.
What is workspace collaboration?
It is the development of office space to facilitate the right environment for colleagues to meet, work and share ideas. It embodies creativity and the formation of an open company culture, where employees all feel a part of something bigger and that they can contribute.
Workspace collaboration is also all about identifying how the business needs are changing, how space is used, how it could be better used and what the benefits will be. It encompasses technology and office furniture, to help bring ideas to fruition.
Better utilisation of workspace is not a new concept – continuous improvement and lean manufacturing saw great changes to shop floors, as these ideas eliminated waste.
Workforce flexibility
Conventional thinking around the perfect office environment has changed and it is no longer seen as appropriate for your workforce to sit at the same desk for eight hours a day.
The way space is used is critical to delivering the ideal environment.
Depending on business demands, an employee might have a “journey” throughout the building, during the course of the day, involving home working and various meetings.
Workspaces need to be dynamic and provide all of the technology to help each colleague to get the most out of their environment and to produce best results for the business.
How to achieve collaborative workspace
Making the office space multi-functional needs consideration of the business needs. Achieving optimisation of each square yard will be determined by what the end goal is. This might be to create areas for education, meetings or privacy. Attaining the right environment will require physical changes to the office appearance. That can be in the form of furniture, technology and perhaps acoustics, colours and even scents. Furniture that is easily moveable and offers storage, enables a workspace to be quickly reconfigured. Creating space might provide room for plants, introducing a new ambience to the office which is proven to enhance wellbeing.
Game-changing furniture solutions from iQ Workspace
iQ Workspace understands how the workspace is evolving.
We work with hundreds of furniture partners, allowing us greater flexibility to deliver your ideal future collaborative workspaces.
Products include freestanding and versatile screens that create partitions and have in-built technology to deliver whiteboards and interactive displays.
Mobile furniture easily enables the reconfiguration of a workspace in seconds, creating the perfect environment and optimising efficiency.
Specially-designed office tables, with different height settings, help to create a comfortable working environment for your colleagues.
Acoustic and decorative panels can enhance both appearance and the acoustic ambience of a work area. Similarly acoustic furniture can create privacy and relaxed environments.
All of the above solutions can only be deployed with the expertise of pre-planning, a tried and trusted approach and a strong network of furniture suppliers, to deliver results whatever your budget.
Contact iQ Workspace today to start your workspace evolution.
