siliconindia | | March 20179physical storage spaces have given way to soft storage systems thereby reducing pressure on physical space per employee. Also factoring in that, remote location working is a trend more acceptable in many organizations now more than ever, this practice has contributed to reduced employee to work station ratio. To improve office space utilization, many organizations are bringing down their employees to work station ratios to even less than one. Some offices, where a large percentage of employees travel or work at a client's location, meet only once a week or month, have experimented with hot desking where there are no dedicated or assigned desks for employees. Office hierarchy also defines the layout and space utilization. New age office is now being perceived as a shared, collaborative, community space which caters to a life within the workplace and focus on providing the same comfortable home like environment to their employees. More and more companies, specially companies that serve a variety of clients in geographical locations, time zones and employ a workforce that is more aware, demanding, well-travelled and of not compromising nature are seeking to evolve themselves and hire designers that take them through a change management process while they reorganize themselves at the same location or more to a newer better facility hence trending towards consolidation of their workforce, instead of a more fragmented locational approach.Efficient designs are not about decreasing square footage but about increased utilization of the same office space. A lot of new designs use strategies such as desk sharing, free desking, benching and hoteling. Unassigned touch down spaces, that may be fully or partially open, offers visual and acoustic privacy and can support one to one meeting or just as a private individual space.Flexibility in both layout of furniture and the design of furniture can bring an element of duality if not multiplicity in the usage of the same space. Workspaces are being coupled with semi-fixed power/ data splines that support movable components, which also enable configurations with more collaboration and interactions. Employees, especially millennials, don't want to be closed up in an office or tied to a desk. They desire the flexibility to work in a variety of modes--sitting, standing, or interacting with their peers. Also, companies are looking for flexible spaces that can accommodate additional workforce as it grows or more collaboration space for various projects. Colour schemes tend to be bold and patterns oversized. Furniture is innovative and multi-functional, and the technology is state of the art, of course, with an emphasis on mobile devices.Collaboration and neighbourhood concepts are been given heed to whereby there is a paradigm shift seen from "my space" to "our space", in order to provide staff a feeling of community as opposed to a feeling of desk ownership in the past. Visual identity of each neighbourhood can also be achieved by the use of various design elements and content depending upon various priorities. Many argue that employees need acoustical privacy in order to be productive, while others seem to be more comfortable being surrounded by colleagues, stimulated by the energy around. The designers must assess each organization's unique needs based on industry, market, culture, demography etc.Eventually certifications like LEED & WELL building standards may not be enough while designing and adhering to them. Designers must be watchful of creating healthy and people centric office spaces. They need to be well aware of physical and psychological benefits of connect with nature and outdoors. These non-traditional designs boost employee productivity as well as employee satisfaction, both of which directly affect the company's bottom line.It may not only mean a visual connect and ample day light situation but also how they could bring the outdoors indoor combined with usage of natural materials inside the spaces ­ leveraging a pallet that leads to positive biophilic response. Efficient designs are not about decreasing square footage but about increased utilization of the same office space
< Page 8 | Page 10 >