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The Office Trends 2022 are all about the changes brought about by COVID and the accompanying desire of employees for more flexibility. If you are planning to refurnish or redesign your office, this year the topics of sustainability and biophilic office design are also worth including in the new furnishings.
In 2022, an office trend that has already been emerging in recent years - especially in the interior design of private living spaces - is moving into the focus of interior designers: green office spaces. This office design trend integrates natural elements into the office with the aim of creating a healthy and sustainable working environment. In doing so, it has been proven that a green, "living" office environment has a positive impact on employee well-being and productivity.
By the way, if you furnish your office biophilically, it doesn't matter whether it has an outdoor area or not - biophilic design can be integrated into any office. The possibilities here are many: in addition to using natural materials such as wood, bamboo and stone, the use of water also offers many options for biophilic office design. Waterfalls and fish tanks, for example, transform any office into a place with a very special flair.
In addition, plants in particular - in the form of vertical gardens or moss walls - are a popular element when interior designers furnish offices green in 2022.
Biophilic office furnishings not only reduce stress levels, improve concentration and increase energy levels and well-being, but also have another positive effect. In warm summers, office spaces are cooled, creating a pleasant indoor climate. The reason: when the room temperature rises, the plants transpire and release excess water into the air through their leaves. With a biophilic office design, even up to 33% of air conditioning can thus be saved.
By the way, if your office lacks natural daylight, there are plenty of plants that can get by with little light. For example, cacti, succulents and tropical plants like the lucky feather can be used wonderfully as the basis for a biophilic office design.
Tip: If more natural daylight is not possible, the same positive effect can be achieved with daylight fixtures.
Biophilic design not only means green design, but also goes hand in hand with maximizing the use of natural light in your office space. More light and an improved indoor climate have an immediate effect on employees: they are happier and there is less sick leave.
In addition, working in a green environment brings people together, making the work environment more social and therefore more pleasant for everyone.
If you want to make your office biophilic, it is recommended to start with one or two elements and add more biophilic design elements over time, so that your green office grows gradually.
Since the pandemic, employees worldwide have become accustomed to working from the comfort of their homes. There, they have spent the past two years furnishing their workplace entirely according to their needs and preferences. Now, employers just need to think about their own habits to find out what employees want from their office in the future.
Cozy office spaces with various workstations and the highest level of comfort must therefore be an absolute priority for office furnishings in 2022.
Comfortable office design includes:
- soft carpets,
- comfortable seating,
- warm lighting and indirect lighting,
- curtains at the windows,
- decoration and
- plants.
If there is an outdoor area, it can also be equipped with comfortable seating.
By the way, 45% of all telecommuters regularly work from the sofa, while a full 38% even work in bed.
Of course, no one will be putting beds in the office in 2022, but soft, cozy couches are an excellent alternative to the traditional desk workspace and the perfect way to create a work environment that matches the comfort of your own home.
Environmentally friendly office design is becoming increasingly important for designers, as well as for employees and employers. Office design is all about natural materials and energy efficiency, but also about enhancing the well-being of employees.
Eco-friendly office design in 2022 looks like choosing each furnishing element wisely and leaving as little of an ecological footprint as possible. After all, a healthy globe is just as important as a beautiful office.
To implement the Office Trend 2022 in your office, you can choose environmentally conscious manufacturers of office furniture. Recycled or extra durable materials made from renewable resources are great for sustainable office design.
In addition to sustainable materials, it is recommended to go for LED lights as well as maximum use of natural light. This is not only energy-saving, but also increases employee productivity.
Neutral colors have proven to be particularly effective when furnishing offices. Thus, all shades of cream and beige must not be missing from the list of office trends in 2022. The light, subtle tones are perfect for minimalist office interiors, but are just as good a basis for the bold who want to make their office space a little more colorful.
For a natural ambience, warm wood tones are excellent as a combination, which can be integrated in the form of furniture or wooden floors.
If isolated color accents are to be set, it is advisable to select them according to the corporate colors and use them specifically in the office furnishings.
In addition to cream, off-white and beige, other colors are particularly suitable for office spaces: natural green gives energy, reduces stress and has a motivating effect. Calming blue is also ideal for offices, because it conveys a feeling of security - the mind is free and can concentrate better.
For more pop, even shades of pink can be used in 2022: Salmon and rosé, for example, are ideal for creating an office design that surprises.
Tip: When decorating your office, it's a good idea to incorporate the surroundings into the color scheme. If the office is surrounded by a lot of gray - for example, in the form of tall buildings made of concrete or steel - intense color accents can give the rooms more dynamism and thus provide a nice contrast to the surroundings. If, on the other hand, the office is located in an area with a lot of greenery, different shades of white and combined textures have a particularly harmonious effect.
Telephone or meeting boxes offer a number of advantages: In open-plan offices in particular, there is more peace and quiet because there is less noise from conversations. As a result, employees are less distracted, stress levels decrease, and concentration and satisfaction increase. In addition, confidential conversations can be conducted discreetly.
If you decide to furnish your office with meeting boxes, you have countless design options.
Workers who offer their employees hybrid working must ask themselves whether it makes sense to set up 12 desks in the office if only 6 are used. Or whether the meeting room will be used as often as it was before the pandemic began.
Larger office areas could instead be adapted to meet the needs of employees who work remotely and are only in the office from time to time. Flexible office furniture that is mobile and can be stowed away is optimal for meeting the needs of different employees and their individual needs. With the help of modular desks and rollable partitions, an office area can be reconfigured again and again, offering optimally flexible working conditions for hybrid working.
Especially in open-plan offices, noise disturbances are unavoidable, but can be controlled. Acoustic partitions, for example, absorb disturbing sound waves and thus improve room acoustics. Other options include carpets, which provide a quiet working environment because they also absorb sound waves. Even plants can be used to reduce noise and also have a positive effect on the room climate.
Telecommuting has become the new standard. The office of 2022 must therefore make combined working easy, so remote workers can come and go with ease.
In addition, 2022 workers want options when it comes to their workplace. They don't want to be locked in one room all day, but are looking for variety. One person may be most productive at a desk, while another may concentrate best in a comfortable lounge atmosphere. The third wants to switch between the two.
Workstations that are not assigned to specific employees, so-called pod areas, as well as cafés and recreational areas with sofas are essential, along with conference rooms, to make employees feel comfortable. Common areas and individual workstations should offer enough work space, comfortable seating and sufficient power outlets so that each employee can make phone calls, work in a focused manner or hold video calls in peace.
Convertible office spaces are therefore the future of the new way of working: work environments in which not every employee has a personal workstation are ideal for hybrid working. One advantage in particular is obvious: cost savings. After all, since all employees will never be in the office at the same time, employees can save a lot of money when renting office space, and energy consumption from lighting and computers is also reduced.
So what should employers keep in mind in 2022 when refurnishing their office space? Sustainable office design is becoming increasingly important, the workplace contains more and more elements of our home and offers more comfort than ever. Flexibility and options are the keywords and guarantors for satisfied employees.
