The human experience is the holistic experience
a person has within a building or space, both virtually and physically. A
positive human experience will encourage people to thrive in their workplace.
This can have a knock-on effect on the health and well-being of employees,
actively encouraging happiness in the workplace, thereby enhancing productivity,
and increasing staff attraction and retention.
Through design, we should look to develop
strategies which aid in creating valuable connections between people, their
purpose and brand. In a post-covid world, we should aspire to utilise
occupier-centric thinking to reconnect people, strengthen their sense of
collaboration, brand identity and team culture collectively, and create the
opportunity for a positive human experience within the workplace.
Focus Area 01: Design
Structure
The workplace of the future should be more than just
an office in the traditional sense. It should be meticulously considered,
particularly at ground level, and in relation to the amenity spaces provided to
occupiers. This could include facilities such as showers, adequate and secure
bike storage, and locker spaces, all of which are important for supporting a
sense of self ownership within the workplace. This in particular applies to more
flexible environments, where many companies are moving away from 1-1 desking,
towards shared-desking or more flexible hybrid arrangements.
Ground level spaces are key for attracting prospective
occupiers to buildings. We should consider what innovative experiences these
spaces can provide, which other buildings cannot. This thinking will be key in
attracting and retaining businesses/tenants, and for connecting brand culture,
community, and identity.
Workplaces of the future should maximise the
potential for positive social engagement. This means considering how office structures
can contribute to the wider community. We should foster synergy between the
workplace and its surroundings, to create spaces which reflect the community
existing within. We should also be looking at constructing mixed-use
developments which encompass retail spaces, multi-purpose facilities,
healthcare provision and activity/fitness spaces, thus creating workplaces
which are also destinations within the city.
Focus Area 02: Occupier-Centric
A positive human experience relies on occupier-centric
thinking which should be reflected throughout the design stages, during pre-occupation
and post-occupation. Effective engagement is integral to understanding brand
identity and the community and culture of a team or business, now even more important
to facilitate in a post-pandemic context. Questions we should be asking when
designing a workplace include: how are the present spaces and systems working?
In what areas are they succeeding, and in what areas are there space for
improvements?
Pre-occupation engagement is fundamental in the
transformation of the existing business model. Design projects become a
catalyst for this change, and so it is critical to understand the client’s vision
and purpose and be able to translate this into an exciting and inviting
workplace design where the positive human experience becomes a driver for
motivating staff to return to the office. This means anticipating when occupier
engagement should expand and facilitating the creation of soft landings to ease
people into the future office. The language we use (particularly during
fit-out) should be about the occupier and how they will experience the
workplace, rather than centering around the building and property itself.
Focus Area 03: Leadership to create “Team-ship”
New thought leadership drives “team-ship” in the
workplace. This focus centers on community, culture, brand, and identity on an
internal level. A developed discussion around the experience of corporates over
the past two years will be key to understanding how the human experience has
been impacted in this area, and for establishing the strategies which are being
implemented to re-engage these key areas of a team in the workplace. It is
highly likely that many corporates will have experienced the disengagement of
departments and teams over the past two years, and so it is important to design
spaces which support the revitalisation of team-ship and enhance connectivity.
We should encourage and maintain strong team culture and brand identity in an
increasingly hybrid world.
We are seeing variations upon trends emerging
across multiple projects: the accelerated use of technology to connect those
working remotely and in the office; increased break out and social space;
greater demand for spaces which provide collaborative opportunities; more
amenity space; and finally, a home-like feel. The workplace of the future is
already being informed by the lessons learnt and the emergence of new thought
leadership styles.
Focus Area 04: Technology & AI
Technology and AI are extremely influential in
determining whether the human experience within a space is positive. For
example, laptop enabled workspaces encourage flexibility by design. Installing
systems which feature integrated technology and support hybrid working
strategies (maintaining team culture and brand identity whilst working
remotely) signals a step towards future-proofing the workplace. We should also
be looking towards constructing smart buildings, featuring environmental
sensors which measure and record air quality, lighting, and noise levels and
which are adaptable, to support user comfort. The BCO’s Use
of Wearables in the Office report goes further and highlights how this
data could be paired with data from individuals’ wearable devices to identify
optimal physical environments for the individual or collective within the work
space. The installation of occupancy sensors which connect to booking systems
through building and staff apps can be highly beneficial, with the aim of
promoting high impact behaviour patterns for the general wellbeing of
occupiers. Furthermore, occupiers should be provided with a thorough guide to
using the building/workplace in such a way that will maximise their individual
human experience within the space. Evidently, well-equipped AV and physical
technology in the modern workplace is essential.
Focus Area 05: Health and Well-being
Supporting health and well-being is pivotal to
designing a future-thinking and positive human experience within the workplace.
This focus area could be expanded through design concepts and strategies. Establishing
which are the most important to a business and which have the most beneficial impacts
on the workplace experience will be key. For example, the Park Concept
encourages the integration of biophilia and biomimicry, the availability of
views, and outdoor spaces in the workplace. Activity Spaces encompass
the availability of fitness facilities and gyms, supported by ancillary spaces
which encourage building users to get active. The availability of doctors and
dentists is also a possibility, and there is the question of whether we should
be looking to integrate Healthcare Facilities into the design of the
future mixed-use developments to support workplace occupiers. The integration
of Mindfulness spaces would offer users a place to destress, rest, or to
conduct private prayer. Lastly, the idea of creating spaces which are Versatile
and Multipurpose echoes the aforementioned potential availability of
fitness spaces but could also be further expanded on, to include social events,
arts spaces, and community forums. Workplaces of the future should be
vibrant, engaging, productive, and magnetising destinations in the city.
We would like to thank WILL+Partners and the BCO
Research Committee for their continued support and research findings.
Follow BCO NextGen's Beth Starling, Interior Designer, WILL+Partners on LinkedIn.
