Monthly Archives: November 2024

Today we are continuing our series showcasing ways to create office and outdoor setting to help your organization function at its best. Today we are focusing on high-functioning workstations. We will show renderings and real spaces showcasing a variety of fixed to fluid solutions.

Workstations That Fit The Modern Workforce

Teams need a home base – a space where they can do focus work and have spontaneous moments of collaboration or relationship building. Access to personal storage, a height adjustable desk and an ergonomic chair are a must for today’s teams.

Renderings

While the footprint of this space may be small, it is packed with under desk storage and file storage. With the whiteboarding panels behind the chairs, this workstation is perfect for the tech or finance industry for employees to do quick calculations. Clear glass at the top of the panels provide a sense of privacy while allowing natural light into the space.

Modern workplaces demand flexibility and innovation. Our solutions go beyond traditional cubicles, offering advanced privacy, control, and comfort tailored for hybrid environments. Enjoy quick adaptations for video calls and focused work with our adaptable, privacy-enhancing systems.

Real Spaces

High-functioning workstations can promote collaboration which helps employees feel connected to their work and are significantly more likely to stay with an organization.

Providing necessary amenities like storage can boost employee morale while keeping the workspace clean and organized.

Steelcase Flex Personal Spaces give people a heightened level of privacy, control and comfort in the hybrid workplace.

With so many new ways to bring in interesting materials, textures and colors, your workplace can express its personality like never before.

As workplaces evolve to meet modern needs, benching systems offer a flexible solution for hybrid employees who don’t require fixed workstations. Ideal for dynamic work environments, benching systems support collaboration and adaptability.

Sit-stand options encourage healthy movement and celebrate individual preferences as they change throughout the day.

Employees who feel connected to their organization and valued are significantly more likely to stay with an organization.

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We are excited to publish a new series of articles that will help you discover office and outdoor spaces that are perfect for your organization. Every organization is different with unique needs, so you need spaces that support your processes and culture.

Today, we are going to go through a series of high-performing private offices.

Why Private Offices Are Still Important

The movement toward more open, collaborative spaces is undeniable. Yet the need for private offices persists, especially in professions – such as legal, financial and human resources – that must promote high degrees of confidentiality and confidence. But amid economic, cultural and generational shifts, what people need from private offices is changing.

Where in the past, people may have established a routine of reporting to the office, sitting down and working all day, work is different now. It’s more dynamic, it has more dimensions – and it is significantly enabled by technology. For example, videoconferencing allows for remote work, and collaboration software allows for ongoing, agile work among distributed project teams. Additionally, organizations also face a new external reality: the rising cost of real estate, especially in dense urban areas. In response, they must do more with less.

Renderings

When designed well, you can create high-performing private offices at any size. These spaces can be assets to employee efficiency and productivity.

An existing large private office is repurposed with an intentional mix of micro zones to serve an individual or a small group. When the primary occupant is away, rather than sit empty, this space swings into service for busy coworkers.

Where present, high-performing private offices are smaller in size than their predecessors and standardized for simplicity and adaptability.

As real estate prices escalate, private offices must make more of every square foot — including horizontal and vertical planes — in order to deliver the productive focus and collaboration needed.

This compact but hardworking office makes room for receiving and processing large volumes of digital and analog information, as well as collaborating with other members of the organization.

Real Spaces

Responding to the needs and wants of top talent, private offices must help people achieve physical and emotional comfort, express identity and stimulate the cognitive process.

Loss of productivity due to noise distraction doubles in open plan offices compared to private offices.

As the workforce grows more mobile and dynamic, private offices must flex so individuals can adjust their environment in the moment, and organizations can repurpose offices for future needs.

To cultivate privacy, orient desks so users can see the door and be aware of entrants to the space. Select materials and wall/door treatments that optimize visual and acoustical shielding. Offer storage that can conceal confidential materials.

Create dual purpose spaces that serve as private offices or meeting rooms.

Help employees do their best work in a 10′ x 12′ or 10′ x 10′ footprint. Ample work surfaces and deep open shelving help maintain flow as employees switch from task to task. Digital and analog tools and guest seating support collaboration and quick, frequent conversations.

Create private offices within an open plan using glass walls. They offer acoustical privacy while maintaining visual connectivity with the surrounding space. This modular solution is easily movable and adaptable to changing needs.

Amid stress and overload, private offices can help restore cognitive, emotional and physical wellbeing in order to enhance performance and satisfaction at work.

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We recently read a fantastic breakdown of hybrid work stats and what companies are planning in CBRE’s 2024 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey. You can read the results in their entirety or stick with us to learn a few takeaways we found most helpful for decision-makers.  2024 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey | CBRE (All graphs in this article come from the CBRE Survey Report.)  

In our synopsis of this report, we will cover how companies are responding to the following categories:  

• Office Attendance Policies and Mandates  

• Employer Expectations for Office Attendance vs. Actual Show-Up  

• Measurements of Workplace Effectiveness  

• Corporate Real Estate Technology Priorities  

• Most Desirable Amenities for Occupiers  

Office Attendance Policies and Mandates 

According to CBRE’s data, 80% of companies have a return-to-work policy in place. That means the majority of companies in the US prioritize having their employees in the office so much that 51% have mandated it. However, there is a discrepancy between the mandates, and how strictly companies enforce them. The first step to mandating a policy should be measuring whether or not it is being followed and only 45% of companies are reporting to be doing that. Additionally, only 17% of those policies are enforced.  

Employer Expectations for Office Attendance vs. Actual Show-Up   

As seen in this table, employers expect a higher in-office attendance rate than employees actually show up. While it is not a huge discrepancy, there is an expectation gap nonetheless.  

This communicates that companies want their employees in the office, but they are not willing to take harsh measures to ensure employees come in. In many cases, employers are in a stalemate position with their employees and at risk of losing talent if they enforce these mandates. The question remains, should companies adjust their policies to be consistent with what they are willing to enforce? Or, should they keep the policies in hopes the economy may influence employees to comply?   

Measurements of Workplace Effectiveness  

It all comes down to workplace effectiveness and how you measure that. When decision-makers are trying to make the best long-term decisions regarding their space, space utilization is understandably the key indicator. How many days employees are in the office directly corresponds to how well you use and manage the space. That is why 74% of companies measure how fully the spaces they provide are used. Harder to measure is employee engagement. Yet, 65% of businesses find these important hybrid work stats to track. Another easier statistic to measure is employee retention and/or attrition. If you are losing employees then your space is not effective for work. That is why 35% of companies prioritize this measurement. Unexpectedly, only 28% of companies measure workforce productivity to determine a space’s productivity. This can also be hard to ascertain because so much of the in-office work is naturally collaborative.   

No matter how you look at it, time in-office is always going to be important and decision-makers should work to create spaces that employees both want and need to be successful. 

Corporate Real Estate Technology Priorities  

Some of the most important tools that support well-functioning hybrid environments are technology tools. It is a well-known fact that to support a hybrid workplace, technology must play a major role. That is why 82% of companies are prioritizing the addition of enhanced video conferencing tools followed by room booking software and building and occupancy sensors. It stands to reason that the more you know about how your space is used, and create spaces your employees need when they are in the office, the more effective your workplace will be. 

Most Desirable Amenities for Occupiers  

In addition to technology that supports employees, there is also a laundry list of other amenities that employees want and employers could use to lure them back into the office. The top draws are easy and reliable transportation (preferably with parking available), food and shopping access, and access to environments that prioritize wellness. While some of these amenities depend on location, businesses can offer some of these things in their building. For example, they could provide a fitness facility, create a cafeteria, or improve their parking situation by buying a lot or subsidizing parking for employees. 

In conclusion, employers want to maximize the effectiveness of their real estate and that often looks like filling it with employees. However, with the discrepancy between employer expectations and employee show-up rates, they have some work to do. They can start by supporting employees when they are in the office with the spaces, technologies, and amenities they need to be productive. Over time, they may just see the positive shifts toward in-office attendance they have been hoping for. 

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Gaming at work can get a bad reputation — conjuring up images of laziness, isolation or distractions. But the Harvard Business Review, CNBC and the Hubspot Blog suggest it’s time to toss out those antiquated ideas and embrace the power of play. In three years, more than three billion people will be playing video games worldwide. And now some organizations are taking cues from universities and leveraging gaming to make work more productive, engaging and just plain fun.

“We often try to power through the day to get more work finished, which might not be as effective as planning short breaks to make time for an engaging activity, such as video games, that can help people recharge,” says Michael Rupp, co-author of Human Factors study on the impact of video games at work.

Creating gaming spaces and forming groups pulls people into the workplace — giving them a reason to show up for much needed connection even before or after work. A gaming community at Steelcase grew to nearly 200 global colleagues who connect to play video games and Esports (a team aptly named ‘Take a Seat’), as well as board games, trivia and jigsaw puzzles, connecting people virtually and in-person.

Work hard. Play hard.

Encouraging a little play at work helps to:

Create community: “You can’t make people be friends. The best you can do is provide the environment in which they do it,” says Robin Dunbar, author of “Friends” and University of Oxford professor emeritus. Friendships at work improve talent retention, and boost trust, engagement, creativity and collaboration. This is where an intentional gaming community can come into play (pun intended).

Allow for authenticity: “Games let us bring who we really are into the workplace,” says Charlie Hunt who along with Pasha Oudsema lead the Gaming Core Team at Steelcase. Hunt says the gaming community helps people feel seen by letting them express their passions outside of work.

Give our brains a break: “When work feels stressful, this space lets that weight lift. I see friends and I feel okay to take a mental break,” says Oudsema. Rupp’s study agrees: a short game break helped people reduce cognitive fatigue.

Build diverse teams: When it comes to games, identities like age, role or department don’t determine who can play. Diverse people come together based on finding joy, creating connections and networks that otherwise would not exist.

Develop key skills: Today’s gaming skills connect closely to what’s needed for success in the office. In person and distributed teammates collaborate, communicate, make quick decisions and figure out how to solve problems — sounds a lot like most days at work, right?

Here’s a few ideas to help start your gaming community.

• Find your gaming hub. Good ergonomic chairs, tiered seating and tables, and a comfy lounge give people lots of places to connect and game online or in person.
• Start with one game night. Don’t pressure yourself to build a community all at once.
• Have the right intention. Encourage departments and other employee resource groups to schedule a game break to build community through play.
• Offer puzzles and pixels. Survey employees and offer both digital and analog games that generate the most interest.
• Connect via chat. Consistent communication is the lifeblood of global gaming. A robust digital chat leads to a vibrant gaming community in person.

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