As the needs of employees continue to evolve, it is crucial for the spaces that support them to adapt accordingly. Our aim is to create an environment that caters to individual requirements while fostering growth and development.
Recently, our Workplace Practice teammates, Chen Hui Spicer, Alexis Trainor, and Cam Pierce, served as jurors for NeoCon's "Best Of" program, where they observed the latest emerging trends. These trends highlight a focus on comfortable sensory experiences to address neurodiversity and ensure that all individuals feel supported and included.
Choice Matters
Comfortable Seating
In the dynamic landscape of modern workplaces, prioritizing comfort and providing choices that cater to individual needs and preferences has become an indispensable strategy. The Hightower Flote Lounge Chair was not only named in NeoCon's Best Of program, it is comfortable, yet supportive and functional. It emulates the comfortable seating people became accustomed to while working from home, recognizing the same sensory experience could be experienced when in the office.
Chen Hui Spicer, NCIDQ, CID
Regional Design Leader
Staying on Task
Flexible Focus Rooms
Traditional private office setups have given way to adaptable and employee-centric approaches. Flexible focus rooms and phone booths like Omniroom by Mute, are an ideal addition for flexible workspace concepts. Recognized for its innovation at NeoCon, it takes flexibility a step further, offering informal work settings that replicate the comfort and familiarity of being at home, promoting relaxation and rejuvenation.
Enhancing the acoustic setting cannot be underestimated in today's workplace. By improving sound quality within the built environment, distractions can be diminished and stress can be eliminated for employees creating a balanced sensory experience. Gather Acoustical by Wolf Gordon was recognized at NeoCon for offering form and function. As a sustainable wall treatment, it effectively absorbs and diffuses noise, while boasting visually appealing textures, patterns and designs.
Cam Pierce
Interior Designer
More on Workplace Trends
Sensory Experience Supporting a Hybrid Work Model
Creating environments that cater to the sensory experience and routines developed during the transition to remote work will play a crucial role in bringing people back into the office. Providing spaces that encourage personalization, comfort, and social interaction will maintain employee engagement in the workplace.
Sensory experiences are the emotional foundation of the workplace, and the shifting landscape of design offers an exciting opportunity for us to consider how we might integrate these experiences into hybrid workplace environments as we design for the office of tomorrow. Read more.
