What the office of 2025 might look like

What the workspace of 2025 might look like

Are you entertaining clients from a virtual desktop? Or probably signing up first-time visitors on platforms like Envoy or do they still sign up on the black hard book? You might be missing out on the workspace of the future.

Or let’s just say are you walking your business partners through quarterly earnings graphics literally? Or even teleconference with other partners in other countries? If the answer is no, then sharpen up, caveman! The workspace of the future is already here.

The Workspace design has evolved and is constantly evolving, and we believe it’s critical we take time to reflect and future-gaze.

Fast forward to 2025, more millennials will have joined the workforce and probably the ‘Baby Boomers’ generation will be making their way into the workforce as well. Emerging technologies will also be taking the workspace by a boom not forgetting the innovations and fresh perspectives brought about by Architectures and designers that will breathe life to the workspaces of the future.

Social, cultural and technological forces will define the office design, revealing the characteristics and approaches to future working environments that will satisfy and inspire the workforce, helping shape the future of the workplace so as to be able to support tomorrow’s increasingly agile, diverse and multigenerational workers – also known as the 5G workforce.

In a report dubbed as The Workplace Futures Report, commissioned by MoreySmith and in partnership with The Future Laboratory, drawing on decades of experience designing workplaces for globally recognized brands including Sony Music, Primark, Coca-Cola, and many more, the report It identifies emerging trends in the workplace, from the effects of technology to new behaviour patterns amongst younger generations, and from cutting-edge innovations to practices that are tried and tested.

The report also narrows down the workplace trends into three categories that include 3 Key Trends for The Future of the Workplace:

Sentient Workspaces:

Imagine a workspace in the future that monitors your blood sugar levels and heart rate for signs of hunger and exhaustion, a space that oxygenates and perfectly chills the air around your desk to counteract any chance of an afternoon slump. Well, apparently some workspaces already have these things in place.

This will be your workplace in 2025, an intuitive, human-orientated environment driven by smart AI systems that optimize workers’ performance, sharpen their focus and meet their demands, leaving them feeling healthier, cared for and more energetic at the end of the working day than at the start.

The report further states that AI-driven desk systems and smart wearables will allow the 5G workforce to log and measure their daily working output against their surrounding Open Work environment while giving employers essential insight into ways to enrich the workspace. Elsewhere, densely planted areas or analogue workspaces will offer for time out and contemplation in the Sentient Workspace.

Hospitality Workspaces:

Tomorrow’s Hospitality Workspace will be a one-stop urban flagship destination for the 5G workforce, a place where work, play and rest are combined under one roof, forming convenient destinations and innovative communities.

Company-owned office space will be positioned alongside collaborative start-up incubators in this future flagship setting, with mixed-use floors where the 5G workforce can socialize or sleep, complemented by public facilities such as galleries, gyms and health centres.

Flat Age Workspaces:

By the late 2020s, the study shows that workspace of the future will incorporate sound-proofed VR learning labs, mentoring pods and diversity incubators will become mainstream as businesses wrestle with the expectations of a 5G workforce.

The report also predicts that the move towards Open Work offices will be steered by the Flat Age Workspace. Workers with complementing skillsets or knowledge will be teamed up to boost intergenerational working relations. Elsewhere, mobile interior elements will encourage play and experimentation. This will be supported by circadian lighting that can be deployed to boost alertness and concentration, and scents to inspire energy or relaxation.

The report also cites that the office of the future will try to eliminate boundaries between office, home, and play. Technologies and wellbeing practices will also play a major role in instilling worker engagement, contentment and productivity, and the new hubs of learning and support.

Being in the workspace for several years now, we spoke to a few people on their future predictions of the workplace and here are some of the highlights or rather some components they think will be incorporated in the workplace:

A more connected workplace:

Technologies like VR and its hyper-cool cousin AR will have an impact on office culture. From reducing open-plan distractions through virtual office walls to boosting training via in-field scenarios, the pair are set to revolutionize how we work, create and coordinate – joining “borderless” infinity monitors and wearable sociometric devices on the futuristic gadget list, all hope for the betterment of staff satisfaction.

Flexible workspaces: Forget choosing between open-plan or cubicle, breakout space or conference suite – the real office space of the future is “agile” and can be all of the above. Depending on their mood, workers may enjoy customizable surroundings and the sort of interactive features that are proven to boost ingenuity, such as modular furniture, portable walls, and removable corkboards.

Workspaces will become more human-centric:

Health and wellbeing will not only be confined to Social Media feed and Health and fitness blogs but in future, we will see a growing awareness of how much our workspace can affect the way we think, feel and behave and how well we work.

The office environment will be more than just a place where a business puts its desks, computers, chairs, and staff; the workplace of the future will also be a foundation on which companies can build brands values and culture and support the physical and mental wellbeing of their teams

Green Technology:

“Biophilic” design has been a buzzword in office overhauls since at least 2014. It is a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions. With natural elements shown to boost productivity by 8% and wellbeing by 13%, it’s still all about the green stuff – and this time, office designs will go further than a few pot plants on the windowsill.

The office of the future will be tackling the planet’s problems integrally through green web hosting, greywater recycling, renewable energy sources, carbon offsets, and locally sourced food. More people joining the workforce will choose office buildings based on facilities and lifestyles but also on their sustainability credentials.

Future generations will be much more demanding and much more questioning in terms of what a potential employer will be doing to tackle climate change. So, I think we will see a shift where creating a good quality working environment that is more responsible in terms of sustainability becomes good for business as well as for the environment.

Holomeeting might become a thing:

HoloMeeting allows companies to hold meetings in a shared holographic workspace. Within this workspace, participants can share 3D and 2D content. Everything that is shared in the workplace becomes visible to everyone else in the meeting. Participants also interact with each other differently. If a person decides to walk around the shared workspace, their avatar — a disembodied version of their head and shoulders — moves as well. Such movements are not just visible to the user, but also to the other participants.

While it’s clear that the workplace of the future will evolve driven by a myriad of  forces, all we can do now is wait and see who knows maybe by then we will be having a new term for offices and they might be a thing of the past, thanks to the 5G Generations and well of course technology. In the meantime though, you can check out Nairobi Garage spaces and see how our modern state of the art offices are tailor-made to ensure that you are at par with the changing times at the workplace.