How Design Wins Employees Back to the Office

The question isn’t whether employees can work from home, it’s whether they’re missing out by doing so. Collaboration, culture and career growth are hard to replicate in a virtual environment. But in a world where flexible working has become the norm, how can businesses win back their workforce?

The answer lies in creating a workplace so engaging, functional and inspiring that it becomes the obvious choice. Smart office design involves more than just aesthetics. It requires crafting spaces that make employees want to be there.

A home away from home

Employees have grown accustomed to the home comforts of remote working. The key to drawing them back lies in designing spaces that blend your business’ need for productivity with your employees’ wellbeing.

Perhaps surprisingly to some, studies show that we get our best work done when we aren’t stressed, and that feeling relaxed can make employees far more productive. So how do you make your office a more relaxing space?

High-quality chairs, adjustable desks and inviting breakout areas show employees their health and comfort are priorities. Instead of lagging behind home set-ups, your office can be an enticing alternative – somewhere your employees want to work.

Natural light and biophilic elements – design features we prioritised when working with the Alpha Group to create their Paddington office – can help create a calming environment that feels less like a workspace and more like a well-equipped second home. With a unified, calming design, your office will look better, your employees will feel better and your business will get better results.

Collaboration and quiet

From brainstorming nooks to flexible meeting pods, dedicated collaboration areas allow teams to come together in a way they can’t on a video call. They foster innovation and creativity, reinforcing the value of in-person interaction.

Our work with All3Media saw us design an office in a listed warehouse in Digbeth, Birmingham. The brief was to create a space that would consolidate their three smaller offices, offering greater opportunities for in-person collaboration across the business.

Not every task requires a group effort, of course. Making clever use of your space to provide private, soundproof areas also helps ensure that employees can concentrate when needed, striking a balance between connecting with their colleagues and solitude. Instead of associating the office with collaboration and the home with heads-down work, a well-designed office can cater to both.

When creating an office for Market Dynanics, for example, we designed a space which contained both bespoke phone booths and meeting rooms separated from the main office by double-glazed Crittall partitions.

Technology that works for you

Employees expect seamless tech integration, so the office must deliver an experience that outperforms their home setups. You’ll likely still have coworkers and clients calling in from their home offices. That’s where state-of-the-art meeting rooms come in.

We can equip spaces with video conferencing tools, smart screens and wireless connectivity to enable hybrid collaboration effortlessly. Instead of feeling restrictive, the right use of the right tech can help your office feel agile.

With folding walls and a town hall-style auditorium, the workspace we delivered for a private client’s HQ integrated the tech they needed from the ground up, allowing for easy-to-use flexible spaces that impressed their team and clients alike.

Designing culture into your space

Your workplace should reflect your brand and culture. Employees need to feel they’re part of something bigger when they step into the office.

From wall art to furniture choices, every detail should communicate your company’s values and personality. A vibrant, branded environment reinforces a sense of pride and purpose. We help our clients to create inviting communal areas where teams can relax and bond. Whether it’s a coffee bar or a games room, these spaces highlight the social benefits of returning to the office.

When you engage a workspace specialist early, they’re able to learn everything they need to know about your company’s culture and vision for the space, so it can be integrated into every aspect of the design. Take our work with Signal Capital Partners – comfortable and contemporary lounge areas, welcoming workspaces filled with classic vintage Italian furniture designs, and a statement British racing green colour seamlessly featured throughout the space, reflecting the Managing Director’s passion for classic and vintage Italian racing cars.