Active trends in the workplace

Active trends in the workplace

As the working year draws to a close, what better time to reflect on the year we've had? In our industry alone, we've seen a whole host of changes and challenges in 2018. With the joining of workplace and facilities management symbolised by the rebranding of the British Institute of Facilities Management into the institute of Workplace and Facilities Management, the relationship between workplace and facilities management has been a strong theme throughout the year. With plenty of other themes also developing and emerging, we round up the key trends of 2018.

Employee experience

Attracting and retaining talent is more important than ever, with graduates and young people seeking an ideal environment to work in appearing at the top of their agendas when looking for a new job. According to Forbes, millennials are searching for workplaces that have a flexible environment, sense of community, and plenty of opportunity for personal development. It makes sense. After all, you spend more time at work than anywhere else, so why would you work somewhere that lacks in workplace culture and a healthy and effective overall experience?

Artificial Intelligence

We've heard about what it can do, and what it has potential to do, but there is still a lot to be done before we can get 'there'. With constant reports emerging of what we will be able to use AI for in the future, we are waiting for it to become accessible for everyone. For now, we shall just stick to the likes of Alexa, Siri and Google and hope that the workplace will begin to catch up with the AI we have access to in our personal lives.

Sit-Stand desks

A trend that we've seen increase over the year and shows no sign of slowing down, is the incorporation of sit-stand desks in the workplace. Because of their variability and health benefits, sit-stand desks have become a stable feature around the world. Our own office re-fit that took place earlier this year saw us replacing all of our regular desks to sit-stand. A lot of our clients have included them in their workplaces too and I'm sure next year will be no different.

We asked our managing director, Adrian Powell, about his predictions for 2019 based on the some of the other evolving trends this year, here's what he had to say:

Continued growth of co-working spaces

Co-working has moved on and is no longer a space that start-ups and small businesses use to keep real estate costs to a minimum as the business starts to grow. Now, it appeals to a wide variety of organisations, including large corporates. They love the flexibility it gives them when managing their property portfolios especially in a time of uncertainty.

Wellbeing

Growing awareness of how the workplace can affect and shape people's physical and mental health – which is very important!

Ongoing adoption of flexible working

While flexible and agile working is being adopted by many organisations, there are many more still to take the plunge. For SMEs flexible working provides many benefits, including attracting and retaining talent, improving the work-life balance of staff and productivity.

We're looking forward to seeing what 2019 has in store for us all!