Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
- Modern workplaces across industries are prioritizing human-centered design, focusing on collaboration, wellness, and adaptability.
- A human-centered approach inspires workplace environments that foster innovation, enhance employee well-being, and support flexible work models.
- Features like flexible layouts, wellness amenities, and adaptable infrastructure create dynamic spaces that evolve with organizational and technological shifts.
Office design can have a profound impact on employee happiness, with a recent report suggesting that “strong office design can make employees up to 33% happier at work.”
With this in mind, as designers, we are rethinking traditional office standards that prioritizes people. This means designing for collaboration, wellness, and adaptability — elements that are becoming essential across industries.
These strategies are at the forefront of innovation, helping organizations create spaces that not only support productivity but also foster a sense of community and well-being. By focusing on these human-centered principles, we aim to design environments that empower employees, enhance workplace satisfaction, and adapt to the evolving needs of modern work.
Three Key Principles for Human-Centered Workspaces
The transition toward human-centered workspaces is moving away from rigid office structures to dynamic, responsive environments that support team interaction and employee well-being.
At the heart of this shift is an increased focus on collaborative spaces that support the return to office and hybrid work. This strategy focuses on optimizing interior wellness to boost occupant health, comfort, and productivity, and ensuring a level of adaptability that enables corporations to evolve with economic, technological, and cultural shifts.
1. Fostering Collaboration
Traditional office layouts often lead to departmental silos that can stifle creativity and limit interdisciplinary collaboration. As a result, many modern workplaces are incorporating flexible lounges, adaptable conference rooms, and outdoor areas to facilitate informal meetings and unplanned interactions.
Open-plan lounges and modular layouts, for example, encourage connection, spontaneous conversations and creative problem-solving. These collaborative design elements support a more integrated workplace culture by encouraging organic touch points, inspiring them to break down silos and foster an environment that promotes innovation.
We recently transformed 10 Prospect Street in Somerville’s Union Square into a destination for all tenants within the building. Amenities like a top-floor conference area, lounge, terrace with views of Union Square, and a secured bike room offer occupants dynamic and functional spaces that enhance their work-life experience, fostering productivity, teamwork, wellness, and relaxation.
These design elements encourage interaction among tenants, creating a sense of community within the building, and helped the project earn a 2024 ENR New England Best Project Award.
2. Wellness-Focused Design
A workplace that values wellness sends a strong message about the importance of employee well-being, and research shows that wellness-centered environments can reduce stress, increase productivity, and improve overall morale.
In practice, this includes features like improved mobility, access to active transportation options, natural lighting, and outdoor spaces. It also takes into consideration healthier materials that are low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and don’t emit harmful chemicals, in addition to HVAC systems that improve air quality.
From an amenities standpoint, many companies are opting for dedicated spaces that promote movement and relaxation, such as on-site gyms, meditation rooms, and rooftop terraces with greenery.
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By integrating these amenities, employers create environments where employees feel supported and empowered to care for their health, which in turn boosts engagement and satisfaction.
3. Adaptable Infrastructure
As employers enact new work-from-home (or return-to-work) policies, we’ll continue to see shifts in how space is utilized. A CBRE survey reported that nearly 40% of U.S. companies plan to expand within the next three years, representing the latest in a long string of work model fluctuations.
With this ever-changing landscape, advances in technology and shifting organizational needs make adaptability an essential feature of any modern workplace. Flexible infrastructure allows companies to easily reconfigure spaces to meet different needs, accommodate new technology, and adjust for growth or restructuring.
Workspaces that use modular furniture, movable walls, and multi-functional areas allow for quick changes to the layout as business demands evolve.
Future-proof infrastructure ensures that workplaces can adapt to new developments without costly redesigns. R&D facilities, which are constantly innovating new lab equipment and technology, are perhaps most accustomed to this priority.
But for corporate offices across sectors, this focus on flexibility creates an environment that remains relevant and functional in the long term, supporting both immediate and future needs.
Conclusion
The design principles of collaboration, wellness, and adaptability are essential in creating workplaces that meet the needs of today’s workforce. These strategies are adaptable to a wide range of industries, from life sciences to corporate interiors, and offer companies an effective framework to foster innovation, employee engagement, and wellness.
As organizations look to the future, embracing these design principles will not only create more resilient, community-oriented workplaces but also support a thriving, connected workforce that is equipped for the future.
