Top 5 Trends for Creating a Productive Shared Office Space

The 2020 pandemic brought about a permanent shift in office dynamics, and now businesses are focusing on creating shared office spaces that enhance employee wellbeing and productivity. By embracing trends like flexible workspaces and incorporating plants into office designs, you can make your office more inviting and employee-friendly. To help you create these people-centric spaces, we are sharing the five key return-to-office trends that will help you create a more inviting environment for your team.

In a post-COVID world, businesses have been navigating a large-scale return to the office and finding varying degrees of success. While many employees enjoy the independence of working remotely, employers are also scaling down on the amount of space they need to rent due to work-from-home and hybrid work contracts. This has been detrimental to the work of large-scale facility managers and multi-tenant property managers, making this new normal not particularly beneficial for most large businesses.

But, what if it were possible for employees and employers to meet in the middle? What if multi-tenant property managers could create post-COVID work environments that appeal to top talent and business executives? By embracing flexible office designs and modern workplace trends, you can strike a balance between the widespread return-to-office movement and the comfort that employees crave. 

To help you maintain this balance, we’ve mapped out five key trends to follow in shared office spaces if you’re looking to entice your employees back to the office while keeping them happy, comfortable, and flourishing.

   1. Curate a Flexible Workspace 

The needs of office workers have changed over the years, resulting in an  evolution of the physical workspace and making flexible workspaces essential for modern offices. For instance, individual offices for every employee eliminate the benefits of collaboration in modern workplaces. They also waste precious floor space. Similarly, rows upon rows of monotonous cubicles lose the privacy and people-centric touch that boosts employee morale and productivity.

Office managers, architects, and interior designers should focus on creating shared office spaces that accommodate the shifting needs of the workforce. With hybrid work becoming the norm,  adding hot desks and collaborative workspaces can invite employees to make themselves at home without making them feel like they’re chained to their desks.

Flexibility doesn’t just apply to the time spent in the office. The workspace itself should be adaptable, with designs that appeal equally to business owners and their employees. In short, a well-designed flexible workspace is key to supporting both productivity and employee satisfaction. 

   2. Incorporate Wellness Features

In keeping with the times, modern workplaces should be prioritizing the health and wellness of their employees. This is crucial if you’re looking to curate a welcoming, attractive space for hybrid and in-office employees. 

We believe everyone’s workspace should be as comfortable and inviting as their home is. This is why we partner with the International WELL Building Institute’s Works with WELL network to assist managers in aligning with the WELL Building Standard. 

As interior landscaping specialists and a people-first company, we keep these standards top of mind during every consultation. Because of this, we’re well equipped to help businesses with their plant designs and to help them strategically utilize the positive impacts of live plants on those who occupy a space. 

The benefits of plants in the office and other workspaces have been well documented. Indoor office plants can improve air quality, boost people’s moods and productivity, improve air quality, and create a comfortable, inviting work environment for your in-office team. But, they’re also effective when it comes to sustainability and sustainable business practices. This can be a major advantage for eco-conscious employees and renters.

   3. Prioritize Sustainable Design

Understandably, there’s a rising demand for businesses to prioritize sustainability and eco-consciousness in their built environments, and this trend extends to the design of shared office spaces as well. As a result, new businesses run by up-and-coming entrepreneurs will opt to rent a space that aligns with their values in this regard.

If you’re an office manager, make sure your building prioritizes energy efficiency and engages in eco-friendly building practices, like using energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems. Put your property miles ahead of  the rest by being environmentally responsible.

As plant specialists who are equally passionate about sustainability, Natura is the perfect partner to help you reduce your building’s environmental impact. We help you select water-efficient office plant species that help remove harmful toxins from the air. We also opt for live plants that aren’t a hassle to maintain (although we can take care of maintenance for you!).

Moreover, we work exclusively with Natura-PON^TM, a sustainable potting soil alternative with a rich mineral quality. Made from sustainably sourced minerals that attract and retain water, the Natura-PON^TM substrate extends the watering cycle of a plant, reducing our installations’ reliance on water.

It's equally important to note that the Natura-PON^TM substrate is packaged as a mix of off-white granular pebbles, which are, by themselves, attractive, with a clean and modern aesthetic. This eliminates the need for an additional decorative top dressing, bringing down the cost of your indoor plant design while boosting the aesthetic appeal of your workspace.

As a whole, the aesthetic appeal of professional plant installations are a surefire way to communicate how serious you are about contributing to an environment that’s pleasant and healthy to work in.

   4. Create Collaborative and Communal Spaces

Any post-globalization  generation will tell you that collaboration is key to a productive workforce. The modern employee loves to brainstorm, collaborate, and think outside the box in a peaceful, tranquil setting that gets those creative juices flowing.

This is where the power of biophilic design comes in handy. By utilizing biophilic design, you can create functional real estate that speaks to both our innate need for community and socialization as well as the needs of the new-generation workforce. 

Businesses want shared office spaces that nurture a positive company culture, encourage productivity, and keep employees motivated and excited about their jobs. Biophilic design and integrating plants into your office space has the potential to boost your corporate rental rates by checking all of these boxes and more by:

•      Absorbing noise
•      Reducing stress
•      Improving air quality
•     and combating sick building syndrome

   5. Partner with an Expert

COVID has had much more of an impact on the modern office space than anyone realized it would. Shared office spaces and flexible workspaces are here to stay.  Today's office managers need to navigate the new-normal hybrid working environments and build spaces that prioritize the people that occupy them.

The modern employee wants to be valued by the organization they work for. They want autonomy as well as flexibility, and they want their health and wellness prioritized in a world that once valued the bottom line above all else.

And, while productivity is important, it cannot be achieved without the valuable work of employees. We at Natura are acutely aware that people make or break an organization, which is why we count putting people first among our core values.

As Works with WELL partners who specialize in plant-office integration for a healthy, productive, and professional-looking workspace, we couldn’t be prouder to put ourselves forward as the preferred partner of choice for office managers.

Need more info? Download our ultimate guide to office plants for a complete guide on incorporating plants into your workspace.