Less productivity and more community: this is the mantra of the contemporary office and 2024 will be the year in which this vision will increasingly gain ground, from the large headquarters to the offices of medium and small companies. Here is a collection of the most important 2024 office trends forecasting.
Office Trends 2024, the Global Scenario
Increasingly nomadic lifestyles, professions that move along the axis of informality, requiring flexible working environments that encourage the carrying out of different activities during the day. With the increasing desire to combine life and work in a healthier way, supported mainly by the new generations, the objective of companies is more than ever to attract talented collaborators and encourage them to stay in the company thanks to more fluid management of routine, often focusing on hybrid work.
Globally, 77% of Generation Z and 75% of Millennials say they are ready to quit if their employers decide to call them back full time for 5 days a week. The reasons for going to the office are linked to being together with others (for 50%), the co-presence of spaces for focus work and relaxation areas (which for 36% increase productivity) and contemporary design that makes people feel welcomed. Likewise, the coexistence between different generations, with digital natives preparing to enter the world of work and many Boomers remaining as consultants even at retirement age, pushes designers to imagine multigenerational work spaces.
The 2024 office trends therefore look increasingly towards collaborative work and the building of communities through the skilful design of spaces, more similar to small villages than classic headquarters. The development of areas for focus work and places where people can take breaks is increasingly requested by workers, as outdoor working spaces. Finally, openness towards the territory is fundamental, as is the valorisation of talents through cultural initiatives and events capable of creating new connections between workers, the company and the city.
Less Productivity and More Community
An office that promotes inclusion and community, connecting workers and making them feel part of a close-knit group, becomes a naturally positive and productive place. In 2024, offices will increasingly become small villages, where traditional work areas will be joined by bistros and cafes, gyms and recreational areas, rooms dedicated to exhibitions and events, in order to offer numerous benefits to employees, encouraging them to spend more time at office. Playful spaces with features like wings also seem to best promote productivity.
When designing a new office, neuroscience promotes the “cathedral effect”: in environments with high ceilings, creativity increases thanks to a pleasant sense of freedom, while rooms with lower ceilings must be used for concentration activities . Lastly, flexible furnishing systems can easily become areas dedicated to social interaction, changing over the course of the day to facilitate activity-based working.
Office Trends 2024: Focus Work and Privacy
Open floor plans and open office layouts tend to cause a lackj of concentration in over the half of workers. It is essential to provide separate areas dedicated to focus work and privacy. 2024 will be the year of neutral and naturally relaxing colours, applied to materials such as fabrics and wood, capable of making the atmosphere welcoming. Natural light, where possible, will be favored over artificial light while the use of carpets and soft surfaces that absorb noise will be added to the installation of acoustic panels to eliminate noise-related pollution.
Away from the Desk
Among the 2024 office trends, breakout areas continue to remain strong: rooms dedicated to relaxation, often equipped with a kitchenette, where you can relax alone or in the company of colleagues, or hold informal meetings. Moving away from the desk for short time is in fact a cure-all and allows to increase productivity once people return back to work. This year, designers will imagine more and more recreational spaces away from operational areas, furnished with large armchairs and sofas, with natural materials such as moss walls, organic textures and seats that help isolate oneself thanks to sound-absorbing materials such as felt.
Office Trends 2024: Outdoor Work
The simple direct vision of natural elements is capable of increasing productivity by 15%. Working outdoors, therefore, becomes essential to connect with greeneries and enjoy the contribution of natural light, which positively influences circadian rhythms. Among the 2024 office trends there is the one dedicated to setting up outdoor work areas.
Those who are on the ground floor or have large terraces can keep the space open in the center and develop meeting rooms and operational areas all around, enjoying the external view. As predicted with “Outside is in”, the Level Office Landscape event which in 2017 explored new scenarios for the office, breaking down the barriers between inside and outside is the new frontier of activity based working. Today we see more and more work furniture made with weather-resistant materials, to allow contemporary workers to choose their own workstation, both indoors and outdoors.
The Culture of the Territory
Involving local communities and making them a part of the company culture is one of the strongest 2024 office trends. Organizing events within company spaces and inviting customers, collaborators and enthusiasts is a way to strengthen genuine relationships and promote knowledge of the area. Hosting exhibitions, talks and debates is also a way to train workers, opening their minds to completely new stimuli.
A path that Level Office Landscape has been pursuing for years with initiatives such as Design per Tutti: free lessons for design enthusiasts, which involve the Lecco area and the Order of Architects of Lecco, creating a cultural network whose epicenter is LevelHUB, a multifunctional space in Valletta Brianza.