I am writing today about 6 office and industrial industry trends for 2020 and beyond. Please feel free to comment below with other industry trends that you would like to read about.
Trend #1: Furniture. Should it stay or should it go?
With the demand for temporary co-working spaces, the office furniture is leased and stays when the tenant leaves. Therefore, the move is essentially contents and equipment with very little furniture moving.
On the flip side, the economy is doing well and businesses have begun expanding or moving to bigger spaces. The demand to furnish new workspaces has increased, which in turn has increased the demand for storage. Or many are opting to have their current furniture liquidated, donated, recycled or disposed of.
Trend #2: Open-Plan Office Spaces
One of the latest trends for the office is that people are not working in designated workstations (offices or cubicles). They are working in open-plan office spaces. But instead of creating an atmosphere of face to face collaboration, it has created the opposite effect. In fact, a 2018 study by “Harvard Business School found that open offices reduce face-to-face interaction by about 70% and increase email and messaging by roughly 50%.” Please engage your employees and ask their preference before deciding to move to open-plan spaces.
Hot desking is another trend where several employees use the same work station for different time periods. This often used in major cities where real estate prices are high or in office environments with flexible employee schedules.
By taking down the walls, often means taking away storage. Where do employees store their stuff? Locker walls are looking to be the way to go for storage solutions in the future. Day-Use Lockers provide a secure place for employees to store their personal items and office supplies when they are not in the office.