Stimulating offices

We have to change

The current transformation from an industrial to a network-based economy is forcing companies to abandon old hierarchies and restructure their entire organisations. This change is also having an impact on how the world of work looks.

As a manufacturer of office furnishings, we at ophelis are intensively engaged with the changes and are considering how these global changes affect the design of working environments. The structural change, long discussed only in the media, is now a reality in companies – across all industries and organisational sizes. Only those who change will be successful in the future.

The factors of change

What drives the radical change process? A look at the different factors shows the complex connections and the multitude of facets:

Technical change

Starting point: Technical progress via the web and the associated digitalisation of our everyday lives and the world of work
We are networked in all areas and can work anywhere
Artificial intelligence and the automation associated with it leads to a great shift in activities

In the future, knowledge workers will have a fundamental importance to companies

Cultural

Changed motives: Career and money are no longer the focus for many workers
Goal: To find a balance between work and leisure time and to enjoy their work
Loyalty and commitment to companies is decreasing
The desire towards self-determination is dominant

A new management and corporate culture is necessary

Economic

Customer wishes must be reacted to faster
Classic business models are put to the test in a wide variety of industries (automotive, banking, insurance, media)
Individualisation of services is of enormous importance

The clearly noticeable pressure to innovate can no longer be managed by companies with the previous organizational forms

Studies predict that nearly half of all jobs in office and administration, service and sales in a highly developed society can be replaced by algorithms combined with robotics. However, knowledge workers will be more important than ever in organisations in the future. Because they are the ones who creatively develop innovations and solve needs. Advantages of the knowledge worker compared to intelligent software:

Fast adaptability
Creative thinking
Context knowledge
Collaboration

The new role of the office

The office as a reference space
Work wherever we want, wherever we are: This freedom enables digitalisation and networking. This change gives the office a new role. The more structures and securities dissolve, the more important the office becomes as a reference and meeting place. The increase in virtual communication increases the need for physical meetings and face-to-face communication.

The office will become a place

that brings people together
where creative solutions emerge
that gives people a change of scene psychologically
for contact, communication and a hub of corporate culture

Modes and moods
Changing workspaces encourages dynamic, flexible and self-determined work at different locations, depending on the activity (modes), personality and mood (mood based). This brings more movement into the daily work routine.

More movement = stimulating for mental agility

Movement helps to separate oneself from rigid work routines and thought patterns
It increases efficiency, motivation and creativity and encourages creative exchange

Offices of the future are places of creativity. They are inspiring, flexible and promote new perspectives by actively providing a change of scene!

Designing dynamic offices

The success of agile teams is based on the diversity of people and skills – and in interior design. In order to concentrate in open-plan offices or to work within a group, employees develop different needs and habits. Being able to use different workplaces and workplace situations has a stimulating effect. Office space design is a key success factor, especially for flexible working methods, and has an influence on well-being, performance and loyalty, as the study “Office 21 Analytics” by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) shows.

The workplace of the future is scenario-oriented. Dynamic, stratified models will replace inflexible structures. A modern working environment offers various surroundings which are matched to the type of activity. Your employees have the opportunity to choose their own working environment, depending on their mode of working (task) and current mood (personal temperament and preferences).

A well-designed working environment therefore offers different spaces for different requirements and promotes the transfer of knowledge, providing space for project work, retreat and communication. It increases attraction of the working environment increases and creates a pleasant working ambience in which your employees can feel comfortable.

Within an office landscape, all environments must be offered for the different working modes (activity based working) and for the different moods: This includes zones for

Concentrated individual work
Areas for communication
Meeting places for informal communication
Project work
Retreat
Meetings

With our product portfolio, we enable the comprehensive design of work environments in which the most diverse types and characters feel comfortable and teams with different requirements can work productively.

My workplace

My workplace or desksharing

Ergonomic workplaces with visual and acoustic shielding are needed for concentrated work.

Communication

Informal communication

Space for spontaneous meetings, working and relaxing: In office landscapes, this space is both a flexible interface and an informal meeting place.

Team work

Team work

Multifunctional community spaces allow teams to work flexibly and non-territorially in changing constellations, even across departmental boundaries.

Retreat

Retreat

Visually and acoustically shielded areas offer individual employees as well as teams room for retreat, concentrated working and confidential communication.

Conferences

Conferences

A space for uninterrupted meetings: Acoustically shielded conference areas become fixed reference locations and support structuring in open space offices.

Tools and rooms needed for agile organisations

Classic project management is increasingly being complemented by agile methods, such as Scrum or Design Thinking; not only is this happening in IT development, but also in other business areas, such as product development, marketing and human resources.

Characteristics of agile working:

Communication takes place across all hierarchical levels
Work and communication do not take place in typical meeting rooms
The room layout stimulates listeners and speakers to switch their roles often and spontaneously
Working in short bursts leads to step-by-step results in the team and enables proactive action to a constantly changing environment
Agile and creative project work requires short pathways and continuous, intense development within teams

Tools required for agile project work:

Permanent adaptability
Mobility
Flexible systems with different components
Support for analogue and digital workflows
Multifunctional project areas
Support for creative thinking processes

Far more than just gaining in flexibility and speed: Agile transformation represents a new way of organising work at all levels of the business. This requires the tools and spaces that promote exactly this type of project work and new flexibility, such as the product family ophelis deem.

Learn more about the topic and request our brochure “Everything in motion” or download the brochure.

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Current examples

Customers such as 50Hertz, HRS or Sony Music use the knowledge, concepts and products of ophelis for the contemporary redesign of their working environments. Together, we create office environments in which employees feel comfortable and enjoy optimum working conditions.

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