SOUND PLAN FOR FUTURE

Offices are set to become more flexible. Melanie Burgess reports

WORKSPACES of the future will cater to the old and young, the private and collaborative, the local and remote. Employers are realising the power of a well-designed office and choosing layouts, materials and technologies that optimise the employee experience.

Microsoft general manager of hardware engineering Robin Seilor says more workers are moving out of cubicles and into free-flow spaces so making sure every space is productive is key.

As a result, office furniture and technology will become more mobile.

The new interactive whiteboard Surface Hub 2S, for example, is on a wheeled stand so people can work in any part of the office.

“No space is dead space – you can bring technology with you and collaborate in the way you want to,” Seilor says. “Steelcase (has also released) a product line of furniture where all of your workspace stuff wheels … they have even created sound buffers where there is a whiteboard on one side so in an open plan you can create your own workspace and be productive.”

A recent report from Sony reveals workplace noise irritates 44 per cent of workers. It finds the most common noise complaints are colleagues talking or laughing too loudly (33 per cent agree) and telephones going unanswered (32 per cent).

A study by Future Workplace on behalf of communications company Poly finds older workers in particular are frustrated by noisy workplaces.

Poly Australia and New Zealand managing director Andy Hurt says employers will increasingly offer a range of workspaces to cater for multiple generations under one roof.

He predicts biophilic sounds – natural noises such as trickling water – will be quietly played across openplan offices, acting as a communal noise-cancelling headphone.

WeWork Australia managing director Balder Tol says the company’s co-working spaces are designed to incorporate a connection to nature. Research shows this contributes to worker wellbeing.