Six office trends for 2020

A modern, well-designed office is a showcase for your company. Also in 2020, developments in the field of ideal office design are not standing still. New trends are emerging and the roads that have been set are being taken further. What can we all expect in 2020 in the field of office trends?

Technology meets sustainability

In general, 2020 will be the year in which technology and sustainability will join forces in the office space. Topics such as climate change, circularity and sustainability are high on the social agenda and that also has an impact in the office space. Advanced technology seems to be the opposite of that, but that does not always have to be the case.

Flora and fauna in the workplace

Plant on the desktop

The design of every office space - whether it is a small office at home or a large building for tens or even hundreds of employees - is of fundamental importance. Everyone works better in an office that has been carefully decorated with the right furniture and furnishings. In recent years, this decoration has increasingly consisted of adding plants and flowers to the interior of office spaces. This trend will continue in 2020.

More and more companies are letting their offices breathe sustainability. Planters are no longer a corner decoration, but are part of the design of the spaces. In some offices, waste is handled in a circular way, and you increasingly find 'office animals' in offices, such as a dog or a cat. Just a gimmick? No, because the presence of animals and nature has a demonstrably positive influence on the working climate that employees experience. And that saves you in it absenteeism of your employees.

Flexible workplaces

flexible workplaces

Equally important to a pleasant working environment is the presence of functional technology in the office. We will also see leaps forward in this area in 2020. An important factor here is the advance of the flexible workplace. Fewer and fewer companies are having their employees work at a fixed location at a desk; instead, the office becomes a kind of inspiration space where people can work in all kinds of places.

The self-employed are known as flexible workers shared office spaces, where you rent your own office space for a few times, periodically or for a fixed period. In particular, entrepreneurs who work temporarily in a certain region can quickly establish themselves locally. Even parties that offer more traditional office space, such as for the Amsterdam office market, now facilitate office rental from one day.

Functional technology

Technology that helps with this is to be able to charge your mobile devices wirelessly, for example at a meeting table, and to be able to quickly check available workplaces at the office. There are now apps on the market where employers can display their business premises digitally, so that you as an employee can quickly check where meeting rooms or work tables are available.

In such modern office buildings you often no longer have to check in at a reception desk, but you can do this at a registration desk. You do not get access to the building with a pass that you can lose, but simply via an app or a barcode that you can scan at an access gate. And once you have arrived in the meeting room, you do not have to press all kinds of buttons to turn on projectors or lower projection screens, but you can easily do this through voice control.

Video conferencing

Flexible working also means: being able to work remotely. More and more offices are therefore being made suitable for video conferencing, so that files do not have to be continuously faced in order to be able to speak to each other or to work together.

Microsoft Teams comes standard with the business version of Office 365. As a communication tool you can start an ad hoc video conversation very quickly. 

Powernaps

Finally, a trend that blows over from Asia: being able to take a nap at the office. We all know the term 'power nap', but very few office spaces offer the possibility for this. After all, it is difficult for you to lie down with your head on your desk. But good news for everyone who now recognizes the power of the power nap: more and more new offices have a 'nap zone' or a place where you can refuel without being looked at.

Sofa on the left for a quick nap

A state-of-the-art office with the latest technology, a healthy, natural design and a quiet place to reload your inner energy: sounds like a nice place to get started in 2020, right?