Workplace Trends – The Way We Work Is Changing

Looking at today’s workspaces, professional needs and workstyles are changing rapidly. We see certain trends affecting the professional work landscape, and their impact will only grow in coming years. The way we work today is both global and mobile. which has led to an overhaul of the traditional work environment. A change in workstyles requires a change in workspaces, which must become equally flexible while facilitating mobility, collaboration, idea-generation, and more.

The following insights come from a survey of more than 2500 employees in five countries from a range of industries and working at different employment levels in companies of varying sizes. The goal of the survey is to understand how the way we work is changing. Here are some things we found:

From Closed Offices to Open Spaces

Today, open-plan offices make up around 70% of all U.S. workspaces. This environment creates new opportunities to foster employee interaction and boost creativity, but also presents new challenges.

Despite the good intentions, we are beginning to see a backlash against the concept. Studies show that open workspaces can result in 72% less time spent interacting in person, and instead workers are sending 56% more emails. Additionally, open workspaces often cause distractions, affecting focus and decreasing people’s productivity up to 28%.