With the pandemic coming under control, many businesses have started returning to their offices — whether full-time or hybrid — which has led business owners to consider important aspects of their office design, including collaboration, engagement, and productivity. 

The shift from Gen X to Gen Z has brought a drastic change in the demands of the workforce. Attracting and retaining the best employees has become a lot more challenging. Additionally, a post-pandemic international poll of 31,00 full-time employees has found that 73% of the workers still want to continue with the option of working from home. As such, more and more workplaces are now driven toward creative, inclusive, and flexible designs to spark productivity, motivation, and an incentive to join physical offices. 

The first and foremost step on the long road to a company’s success is creating an inclusive office design that offers diversity and inclusivity. Dive into this blog to learn about the practical strategies that will help you to generate the best environment for your workforce in your next office renovation. 

What Is Inclusive Office Design?

An inclusive office provides equal facilities and opportunities to the entire workforce regardless of factors such as gender, mental health, age, physical ability, and race. It focuses on valuing an individual’s talent and making them feel accepted and welcomed. 

Some key elements of an inclusive office design are;

• Sense of self-confidence: Employees feel that their company cares about their individual talent and strength.
• Learning and development opportunities: Allows the staff to feel that the organization gives importance to their ideas and aspirations. 
• Collaborative environment: Leads to organization-wide inclusion.
• Access to resources: Providing the staff with support from managers and affinity groups makes them believe that the company is devoted to their growth.
• Having a voice: Workers are allowed to share their opinions.

Why Is It Important?

Employee satisfaction is directly linked to engagement. Organizations that trust their employees, make them feel valued, and consider them an important part of the company typically see better results. Plus, employees perform better in environments where they feel comfortable and heard. 

How to Implement Inclusivity in Office Design?

Designing a workspace that is perfect for the entire population is practically impossible. But, carrying out research in the target market provides business owners with appropriate ways to build a space that suits the majority.

Below we will discuss ideas you should add to your upcoming office space planning for a more collaborative and connected atmosphere. 

Address The “Why” 

Why are your employees working for you? What motivates them to get out of bed? Searching for the answers to such questions can help you learn about your staff’s ambitions, personal goals, and objectives which, in turn, can support the overall business aims. 

Once you’ve understood how people and culture intersect in your company, it will be easier to create a link between the bigger picture of what the business is working toward and the targets of the workforce. Supporting every individual and discouraging hierarchy by preventing ranking employees based on age and gender will dramatically impact a company’s output! 

Optimize Your Floor Plan

Since a truly inclusive office must allow for ease of movement, traditional office spaces have now transformed into co-working, flexible spaces, such as open-plan offices. 

An open plan office provides freedom of movement, promoting productivity, brainstorming sessions, and idea sharing. A lack of barriers means that people can flow throughout the office smoothly, even if it’s someone in a wheelchair. You must also remember to adjust the office system furniture in a way that the wheelchair users have enough space to move freely. Adding large walkways and ramp access can be helpful too. 

Construct Multiple Settings

Designing an open floor plan is not enough. Companies need to create a diverse office that offers a variety of settings, from areas for communication and socialization to spaces for private and confidential work. 

You must keep in mind people with underlying medical conditions. For example, someone with social anxiety may want to have a more private space to work, while anemic or elderly people who get tired easily and need a break may support the idea of a break room. 

Provide More Flexible Access To Spaces

Extending flexible options to the staff allows them to feel included. 

An innovative and modern idea is to use desk hoteling. This method allows employees to schedule their use of cubicles, desks, and other areas. The advantage is that users get to reserve a space in advance according to the type of work they will be doing at a specific time. This method limits the number of people available at one time. This provides an extra advantage to people who have low immunity due to certain health issues like asthma or diabetes.

Before implementing this practice, make sure to communicate the benefits to the staff and listen to any concerns they may have. 

Create A Workplace For All

From little steps like encouraging employee input during reconstruction to significant renovations like opting for flooring options that allow ease of movement, every effort contributes to creating a welcoming and productive office space that motivates your employees. 

However, admiring an inclusive office interior design is one thing, but striving to incorporate it into your office is another. Need help with the latter? Check out our office interior design portfolio, or contact us now for professional advice and assistance!