- A 5-minute wrap of the most-read articles on Allwork.Space in 2020 and our most popular podcast episode.
- The top 15 articles offer some fascinating insights into what people searched for during the year of the pandemic.
- From changing workplace practices, to a healthy obsession with plants and wellness, here are this year’s most-read articles.
So that was 2020. One thing’s for sure, we’ve had plenty to write about.
Of course, 2020 was the year of the coronavirus pandemic. ‘Unprecedented’ doesn’t quite sum it up; at the time of writing, we’re still navigating the extraordinary effects of Covid-19 and learning how to live, work and coexist with the phenomenon. Looking back over this year’s most-read articles, it offers some fascinating insights. Our top 15 most read articles reveal a healthy obsession with office plants, a fascination with workplace wellness, and a keen interest in the future of work.
In case you missed some of these, we’ve put together a 5-minute wrap of 2020’s most read articles along with our most popular podcast episode.
Top 15 Articles from 2020
15. What Is The Office For? A Look At The Changing Role Of The Workplace
Published: June 2020
This article summarises a fascinating presentation by Criteo’s Mike Walley for the Smart Workspace Design Summit, which took place in June 2020, during which Walley concluded that we no longer need the office in the same way as before. The office won’t die, he said, but it will change, and the future of the workplace for those who are willing to accept this change will be extraordinarily different.
14. 5 Office Plant Trends For 2020
Published: December 2019
Biophilic design became increasingly popular throughout 2019 and, based on the most popular articles listed here, this trend is clearly continuing to gain momentum. Featuring commentary by William Braid, MD of Plant Designs, this article explores five office plant trends including elaborate ‘jungle-esque’ plant designs that mimic the wild.
13. Our New Reality: The Hybrid Work Day
Published: November 2020
Convene’s Head of Workplace Solutions, Nick LiVigne, explores how the hybrid work day will shape the future of work. Originally published on Work Design Magazine, LiVigne discusses the link between trust and engagement and why we must move away from traditional workplace management to thrive in our current normal.
“The great remote experiment has both succeeded and failed. The hybrid work day is the answer” – Nick LiVigne, Convene
12. Don’t Be An Online Tool – 11 Top Virtual Meeting Etiquette Rules
Published: April 2020
At a time when the world was coming to terms with lockdown, quarantines and Zoom meetings, tech writer Gemma Church took a tongue-in-cheek look at how to navigate the murky world of virtual meetings. The key takeaway is to treat any online meeting like an in-person meeting, which means don’t talk over other people, don’t get distracted by your phone, and don’t turn up in your pyjamas.
11. In the Loop: WeWork Woes and Regus
Published: May 2020
Allwork.Space’s weekly round-up of major news headlines from the flexible space industry revealed a tough week for WeWork. Co-founder Adam Neumann filed a lawsuit against SoftBank, and a group of WeWork members hired a high-profile lawyer to prevent the coworking giant from collecting membership fees during the coronavirus pandemic. That same week, it was reported that IWG’s Regus was trying to back out of a 15-year lease and a $90M guarantee.
10. Number Of Coworking Spaces Worldwide To Double Within The Next 4 Years
Published: July 2020
At a time when coworking spaces the world over were facing enormous challenges, this study brought positive news. The 2020 Global Coworking Growth Study suggested that the growth trajectory of coworking would begin to recover from 2021 and the number of coworking spaces worldwide will more than double by 2024, surpassing 40,000.
9. Coworking Is The New Normal, And These Stats Prove It
Published: May 2019
2019 was a huge year for coworking. Stats gathered at the time of writing revealed that the global market value of flexible workspaces was estimated at an approximate $26 billion, with approximately 35,000 flexible workspaces in the world representing 521 million square feet of flexible space.
8. Why Color Is So Important For Workspace Design
Published: September 2020
Cowork Tahoe’s Jamie Orr investigates the science of color and its impact on the member experience. For instance, purple is a calming yet luxurious color, while green — associated with nature — is a good choice for spaces where people spend long hours as it promotes feelings of balance. In one study, even brief glimpses of green were shown to enhance the creative performance of workers.
7. IWG Plans To Set Regus Into Insolvency
Published: September 2020
Like many other flexible space operators operating during the pandemic, IWG faced the challenge of paying ongoing rent while their spaces sat virtually empty. In September, news emerged that IWG was preparing to set its Regus brand into insolvency if landlords did not lower their rents.
6. How Technology Can Help Create Healthy Buildings
Published: July 2020
By mid 2020, discussions around enabling a safe return to the workplace focused largely on physical distancing, signage, sanitiser stations, and one-way systems. However it soon became clear that guidelines needed to focus on the health of the building — not just the people inside it.
5. Future Of Work: 20 Ways Work Will Change In 2020
Published: December 2019
The end of 2019 brought fresh predictions for how technology would shape our workplaces. Among them, this article discussed the potential for more task automation, security, collaboration between humans and robots, and greater geographic distribution among teams. Little did we know at the time, many of these expectations would be accelerated and change would start to happen much faster than predicted, with the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic.
4. Which Generation Are You?
Published: August 2014
From Traditionalists born in the 1940s to today’s high-tech Generation Z, this article covers the five main generations — most of whom are still at work today — and their key workplace characteristics. Which generation are you?
3. COVID-19 Pushes Flexible Office Industry Back To Its Roots
Published: April 2020
While the pandemic accelerated the development of new technologies and ways of working, it also generated a surge in popularity for some more traditional working practices. One of them is the virtual office, which has been around for decades but saw fresh growth in demand in 2020.
2. The 7 Best Low-Maintenance Plants For The Workplace
Published: September 2018
An eternal favourite, this article regularly appears at the top of our most-read lists. Whether you work at home or an office, indoor plants provide many benefits to your workspace; they can help combat noise levels, purify the air, and contribute to overall wellness. They’re pleasant to look at, too. These 7 varieties are generally low maintenance and easy to keep.
1. Top Plants You Should Never Keep Indoors, Whether At Work Or Home
Published: March 2020
Our most-read article of 2020 is another plant-based feature, which shows just how important biophilic design has become to the modern workforce. In this article, we discuss the importance of selecting plants to suit your workspace — and how to avoid picking the wrong variety. For instance, some types of plant are prone to attracting pests, while others can trigger allergies.
Bonus: Allwork.Space’s Most Popular Podcast of 2020
Since 2003, the Allwork.Space team has been busy creating written content (back then Allwork.Space was known as Officing Today). In 2019 we launched a podcast, and it has been steadily gaining a loyal listenership alongside our regular editorial features.
In 2020, our most popular podcast (published in December 2019) featured Jamie Hodari from Industrious, who talked at length about welcoming Gen Z into the workplace and why flexibility isn’t enough to create the workplace of the future.
Listen here:
Workplaces of the Future: Flexibility Isn’t Enough
And That’s a Wrap!
While 2020 wasn’t the start of a new decade we wished for, or even expected, the flexible space industry responded by digging deep, working together, and pushing forward in remarkable and innovative ways. If you have stories to share from 2020 or plans for growth as we head into 2021, let us know by contacting the editors or by tagging Allwork.Space on Twitter, Linkedin or Facebook.
