A host of new trends are set to shake up the UK’s workplaces in 2016. One change that will make many people stand up and take notice is the advent of standing desks, which are soon to be omnipresent in every modern workplace. Standing desks allow people to spend part of their day perfectly upright, simply by raising their desk at the turn of a handle: the only question is, will you be a sitter or a stander?
While collaboration remains very much part of the zeitgeist, landlords and occupiers are also becoming increasingly aware that people still need space to think. We can therefore expect to see “thought zones” popping up across the country.
If, like me, you have fond memories of telephone kiosks, the likes of which were found at airports and hotel receptions for decades, then you’ll be pleased to see them make a long-awaited return to an office near you. Soon, you’ll no longer have to argue with your irked spouse, or indeed take a confidential call, in front of an entire open-plan office.
As bosses unplug the tangled phone systems, tear down desk partitions and consign cumbersome PCs to history, many offices will boast enough space to make Major Tim Peake a little envious. The sudden sensation of extra room will be amplified by the use of natural lighting, minimalist storage, innovative gadget charging and mobile phone-driven access and environmental controls.
Nothing clears the cobwebs and stretches the limbs like a free lunchtime dose of yoga. With more businesses recognising that it also makes for happier, more balanced employees, we may be quickly surrounded by lotus ladies and mantra men during the next
12 months.
Not so long ago, phrases such as mindfulness and meditation would have been given short shrift in many UK workplaces, but the tide is turning. Such practices can make a genuinely positive change to people’s lives and help them achieve their goals. Many more forward-thinking businesses are set to offer free or subsidised classes to their employees this year.
A sharp intake of fresh air can cleanse the mind and soul in seconds. With Britain getting ever warmer and wellbeing at the top of every corporate agenda, many of us will soon be wheeling desks or carrying laptops onto roof gardens or balconies to enjoy a few hours of outdoor working each day.
This may be the Year of the Dog as fed-up dog owners finally get to see more of their favourite pooch. With occupiers and landlords beginning to relax rules over dogs in the workplace, we can expect to find man’s best friend wagging his tail in our elevators or tugging at trouser legs under the boardroom table. Of course, it’s also a great solution for vacuuming up all those bits of dropped sandwich.
Music at work was once confined to a dodgy old wireless in a distant corner of a workplace crackling out Radio 2. Now, workplaces are witnessing a rise in carefully selected mood music, often streamed via WiFi, aimed at improving staff morale and boosting productivity throughout the day: music
to bosses’ ears!
Some coffee outlets may be synonymous with dodging their fair share of corporation tax, but thousands of us still visit the nearest barista several times a day for our grande of choice. With a large number of office workers now diehard caffeine addicts, 2016 heralds the rise of boutique coffee shops in atriums and high-end espresso makers becoming central to communal areas.
Cue the unenviable sight of wired executives and their dogs breaking into impromptu bouts of karaoke on balconies.
Colin Sinclair is director of workplace development, Bruntwood
