MARCH 2016 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \
19
End Users
The renewed focus on human-centric
designs also means a new emphasis on
well-being. Getting people up and moving
is not only essential for their own personal
health and well-being, but also studies show
that active workers are happier, healthier,
more engaged and more productive. Com-
bining standing-height tables with adjust-
able seated solutions offers ease of access for
individuals and groups. Those solutions often
include standing-height meeting tables where
teams can work agilely and meet spontaneously
or on the go. But standing for long periods is not
better than sitting – rather, movement is. Work-
ers who stand for 15 minutes every hour is a great
start to improve the health and engagement of
office-based workers who typically are sedentary.
As change continues at an exponential rate, the
office as we know it needs to evolve to stay relevant.
We need workplaces that are agile and can adapt.
Work environments will have to transform to be
more engaging and empower people with choice and
options. We need to create environments that support
well-being and enable innovation and productivity.
And we need to accept that we can not only design
space once every 10 years and think it will remain a
powerful business tools. We need to embrace that living
in a time of change means we must change the way we
design space, and the frequency at which we adjust it.
\\
Successful workplaces have
a renewed focus on people
– after all, human resource
cost is a business’s
greatest expense, and
also its greatest asset.
People costs are 10 times
the cost of space, so
doing anything that
negatively impacts
your staff can be
detrimental to your
business.
