Workplace trends for 2022 – Love Your Workspace

Another year, another set of design trends, although we think these ones might be slightly different. Work life has shifted dramatically for lots of us and many of the changes are already well under the way or set to stay rather longer than than the usual trends.

This years list contains some important (and welcome) cultural shifts, as well as some comforting and fun design elements. So here are our workplace trends for 2022.

Culture and wellbeing

According to Forbes, the #1 trend for 2022 is employee wellbeing, with many employers shifting from organisational to individual benefits, designed to provide physical, emotional and social support.

Nearly 2 years of a pandemic has left most feeling at the very least a bit frazzled. Therefore it’s no surprise that wellbeing is at the forefront of our minds. The good news is that many of the  changes experienced look to have some significant long term benefits.

Hybrid working

It’s a phrase you might be tired of hearing by now, but it’s still top of the charts when it comes to managing workspaces and keeping employees happy in 2022. Research shows that workers feel more trusted and motivated thanks to hybrid working and it will play an important role in combatting the ‘great resignation’.

A hybrid workplace is somewhere that offers a combination of a traditional office work space with on-going remote options. The employee has flexibility on where they can work.

This might also include a blend of environments such as co-working spaces, the office, home or elsewhere. If employees are coming into the office less often or for specific tasks such as meetings, creative and group work, its likely more collaborative areas will be needed. These might feature individual workstations for touch down work, soft seating or big tables for eating and socialising. With online meetings here to stay, an acoustic booth or two might also be useful for minimising disruption on the office.

You can learn more about hybrid working here.

Flexible working

Often overlapping with hybrid working, flexible working has been around a while but is having a resurgence in 2022. Employees are looking for greater autonomy and job satisfaction. This is one of the ways employers are able to offer it.

Flexible working is an agreement that empowers workers to choose their own work hours. This aims to offer a better work life balance – an adapted 9-5.

Both the above will need significant investment from employers to makes sure these changes are implemented well. This will include restructured policies and job roles, investment in technology, DSE assessments and manager training.

Sustainability

We’ve talked before about sustainability and how important it is. People and businesses are increasingly aware of their environmental impact and work to minimise this, with employees attracted to companies with a robust environmental policy.

We’ve all heard the mantra ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’ and this can be applied throughout the office environment. This could be minimising food waste, reviewing your supply chain or making sure any new office chairs are more sustainable.

At Love your workspace we strive to work with responsible manufacturers, encourage clients to invest in good quality furniture and recycle pieces that can’t be re-used.

Comfort

We’re all seeking a little bit of comfort, so why not at work?

Workplaces have been adopting a softer look and offering a variety of working environments for some time. However with the rise in home working and co-working spaces, the aesthetic line between home and office continues to blur.

Furniture is one of the key ways to make a space comfortable, and there are plenty of cosy pieces on offer to suit different working needs. We recently worked with a co-working space in central Brighton to create a beautiful but practical workspace which demonstrates well some of the design trends we’ll see in 2022.

Following on from comfort, it looks like neutral and calming colours will be the shades of this year. Muted tones, whether painted or upholstered offer lightness to a space. They can be easily fine tuned up or down depending on the setting. The other benefit of subtler colours is their longevity. Able to co-exist with most things, these tones can weather future styles, meaning greater sustainability. Use smaller items to update a space in the future – after all, who doesn’t love a statement cushion?

If you’d like some advice on updating your office in 2022, please send us a message or give us a call on 0330 332 0880 to see how we can help.