Office Design Trends 2020

Over the past few years, office design trends have evolved tremendously. Because of the challenges that businesses face today, exciting transformations have resulted in how employees perform, interact with, and operate within built environments. Old office design that didn't allow employees to be comfortable and didn't encourage creativity are no longer the norm today. 

Employees and prospective employees no longer work in one-size-fits-all spaces. Workspaces are now designed for unique business needs, improve performance and productivity, attract more talented employees, enhance employee wellness, and inspire them to develop new ideas for every project.

Any full-time employee spends at least or about eight hours a day at work, and thus the workplace should be a space that offers them a pleasant and nurturing experience instead of depressing and burning them out. Today, designing office spaces is never an easy task. 

Companies, in terms of their functions and operations, are now becoming increasingly complex. That's why modern office design trends are now slowly taking over to help keep employees happy, energized, and more productive than ever. If you're looking for modern office design trends that will suit your place, you've just stumbled upon the right post.

We're giving you a list of winning office design trends that will surely make your employees content at work while also boosting their efficiency.

1. Dynamic and Flexible Office

A few years ago, a trend of active offices began to emerge. It introduced people to the idea of multi-functional workspaces. Such spaces included indoor-outdoor access via garage doors, television and video equipment, movable green dividers, and step-style seating. They also made the design to meet the needs and applications of today's increasingly multidisciplinary business world. Because of this, multi=purpose spaces have become the new norm.

However, in this year 2020, the trend's new phase is the dynamic and flexible office. It introduces an entirely new batch of multi-functional, moveable, lightweight, and ergonomic elements designed to fit any purpose and space. A flexible office's distinguishing feature is that it is non-restrictive. 

You can adjust the desks, move around the furniture, and even small meeting areas are easily accessible. Employees can say goodbye to being stuck at their desks or cubicles all day long because they are now allowed to work in different office areas. Offering employees the freedom to move around helps them maintain good health and motivates them to work more efficiently.

2. Woodsy Feels

Let's welcome the comeback of wood in office spaces. Nowadays, most office environments are built using traditional whiteboard drywall construction and filled with metal cubicles. Since more brands are becoming more focused on sustainability, facilities have started to adopt a more environmentally conscious attitude to align the labor force's pro-environment and sustainability ideologies today.

Wood is not only used for walls, floors, countertops, and accents but also provides a space with an undeniable character, adding biophilic texture, lines, and warmth to the traditional dull office environments. Some popular additions to the new office space design are features like prefabricated wood and glass offices, elaborately-constructed wood and moss walls, preserved tree stumps that they turned into coffee tables, and refined, reclaimed lumber. 

The use of linear wood paneling and slatted wood patterning to create the illusion of depth is another critical feature of this design trend. 

3. Collaborative furniture

If there is one office design trend that is quickly catching on, it is probably collaborative workspace furniture. As we all know, collaboration is an integral part of any office, and it just makes sense that furniture encouraging and facilitating collaboration should be part of any office.

You can choose from many collaborative furniture such as freestanding media units where employees can meet quickly and project their work or report on a screen. You can also select acoustic podes where employees can hold consecutive meetings, large meeting desks equipped with power outlets, adjustable height options, task lighting, and data sockets. 

4. Biophilic design

This design trend focuses on the natural world. If you want to create a calming and stress-free environment, bringing the outside world inside your office is a great way to do this. Natural decor is now making way into modern offices, and many office designers are incorporating natural elements in their office designs.

This trend includes large windows that allow natural light to pour in, plants around the office for air filtering, use of organic colors, patterns, and materials that create a relaxed ambiance to help reduce employees' stress levels and increase their focus and energy.

5. Increasing Community

Companies today need to reimagine and redesign their office spaces to meet the employee's ever-changing needs. Nowadays, the trend is to create more inviting and comfortable rooms that promote a sense of community, comfortability, and shared values. New office environments already include features that you can find in hospitality settings such as restaurants, bars or beer fridges, comfortable furniture and fireplaces, rock walls, game rooms, and fitness areas.

Now you might ask why companies are improving employee satisfaction. It is because facilitating these upgrades benefits the business in ways that telecommuting or flexible working can't do. We can expect that commercial spaces will only become more refreshing and vibrant in the years to come.

6. Integration of technology

Technology has a huge impact almost everywhere, and modern offices are not an exception. You can practically do everything electronically-- this means that offices need the proper equipment to keep up with technological advancements. An office that is well-set-up will help employees work smarter, faster, and way more efficiently.

Many offices now opt for laptops instead of desktops to give employees the freedom to work from anywhere. Power outlets are now becoming more readily available around the office, video conferencing technology, screens for presentations, wireless charging stations, smartboards, data ports, and anything else necessary for facilitating smark work.

7. Domesticated Workspaces

You see flowerpots, woven baskets, furnished kitchens, throw pillows, and area rugs-- we're sorry to tell you, but it isn't your home. It is your office's new accent design. The home working environment is now becoming a trend to create a more comfortable environment. This style creates a more welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for employees who frequent the office.

The Takeaway

As times change, the nature of trends also change. Some have lasting power. However, even the most popular trends fizzle out entirely over time. These trends of 2020 remain consistent in the aspect that they are a reflection of our modern-day business culture. So, when you choose a design for your office, you must make sure that what you want is progressive and will last for a long time.

For comprehensive insights on enhancing your office space, visit our Best Access Doors Blog page. Explore the latest trends and gain valuable knowledge about construction projects to transform your workplace.