Dezeen promotion: working from home during the pandemic has changed people's expectations of their workplaces, according to research from office design leader Steelcase.
The Steelcase Global Report finds that issues concerning safety, productivity, comfort, control and a sense of belonging ? all stemming from experiences over the past year ? will lead to changes in the way that offices are designed in the future.
"After spending months at home during a crisis, workers have never been more in touch with what they want from their work and workplace," reads the report.
"They have new and increased expectations of their employers and workplaces ? desiring a dramatically different and better experience than the one they left."
Steelcase's report identifies four "macro shifts" that it believes organisations will need to address as employees return to working at the office. These trends were already developing before the impact of Covid-19, the research suggests, but have been accelerated as a result.
Design for Safety
Safety has emerged as the primary cause of change in office design going forward.
Companies will need to reassure their employees that the office is a safe environment, by enforcing measures that minimise risk of infection.
"Pre-pandemic, when organisations addressed safety in the workplace, their focus was primarily on occupational health and safety standards," reads the text.
"Now, they will need to take a multifa...