Future of work: What we can expect from offices, workplaces

From noises that minimise distractions to materials that help maximise wellbeing, this is how workplaces of the future will impact you.

Offices of the future will provide rooms to suit all working styles, wheels on everything to maximise mobility, natural materials for improved wellbeing, and speakers that project noise-cancelling sounds to reduce distraction in open-plan spaces.

Those are the predictions of workplace and technology experts.

Microsoft general manager of hardware engineering Robin Seiler says more workers are moving out of cubicles and into free-flow spaces, so making sure every space is productive is key.

The Finder.com.au office in Sydney has different meeting rooms and spaces that cater to different working styles. Picture: Supplied

As a result, office furniture and technology will be increasingly mobile.

Interactive whiteboard Surface Hub 2S, for example, is on a wheeled stand so workers can communicate with remote colleagues and clients in any part of the office.

“No space is dead space – you can bring technology with you and collaborate in the way you want to,” she says.

“Steelcase (has also released) a product line of furniture where all of the desks wheel, all of your workspace stuff wheels … they have even created sound buffers where there is a whiteboard on one side and a buffer of sound so in an open plan you can create your own workspace and be productive.”

Microsoft’s Robin Seiler says the future workspace is mobile. Picture: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

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A recent report from Sony reveals workplace noise irritates 44 per cent of workers.

The most common complaints are colleagues talking or laughing too loudly (33 per cent experience this), telephones ringing and not being answered (32 per cent), colleagues sniffing, sneezing or coughing (28 per cent), and nearby construction (27 per cent).

A study by Future Workplace on behalf of communications company Poly finds older workers in particular are frustrated by noisy workplaces.

Sixty per cent of Baby Boomers are most productive when it is quiet while 52 per cent of Generation Z prefer working around noise or talking with others.

Poly Australia and New Zealand managing director Andy Hurt says employers will increasingly have a range of workspaces within an office to cater to having multiple generations under one roof.

Desks may be in an open-plan space but there are also collaboration rooms for louder meetings and small offices for taking important calls in a quiet setting.

An open-plan space in the Finder.com.au office in Sydney. Picture: Supplied

He predicts biophilic sounds - natural noises such as trickling water or waves - will be quietly played across open-plan offices, acting as a communal noise-cancelling headphone.

“Pumping biophilic noises into the workspace can block out and change the noise balance in a room,” he says.

“You might have speakers and microphones in the room so it listens to where the noise source is and increases the sound of water, or whatever it is, in that area.”

Research shows natural sounds and materials help with worker wellbeing so are likely to become more common in workplaces in the future.

SEEK resident psychologist Sabina Read says small changes can have a significant effect on the way people feel.

“Just putting plants or an orchid on your desk not only personalises your workspace but brings some of the outside in and we know that is good for wellbeing,” she says.

Balder Tol says WeWork Australia is already using natural elements in its workspaces. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning

WeWork Australia managing director Balder Tol says the company’s co-working spaces are all designed to incorporate a connection to nature.

“We add a lot of plants and greenery and use natural elements like stone and leather to create an environment to make people feel more creative and less stressed,” he says.

“We use natural light.”

LogMeIn vice president for Asia Pacific Lindsay Brown says workers should also get out of the office to change up the way they think.

He recommends companies consider not just the layout inside their office but also the placement of the office as a whole.

“We have proximity to transport and it’s simple things like amenities and coffee shops or access to an outdoor area in which to have a different context to collaborate and chat as well,” he says.

“Some of the best ideas come when you are out of your usual environment as it encourages different thinking.”

Business owner Nathan Schokker likes to work outside of the office as much as possible. Picture: Supplied

Nathan Schokker, founder of commercial concierge service Talio, is barely ever in an office and believes flexible working styles will only become more common.

He prefers co-working spaces, coffee shops or working from home.

“Ever since starting my own business I’ve operated off two devices, an iPhone and an iPad and that’s it,” he says.

“No laptop, no desktop, no printer, no scanner, nothing else.”

Schokker says he is more innovative when he is working outside of the office.

“(People are) tied to a desk or a desktop and they seldom take a look around and engage with all these other people using technology,” he says.

“So often my best ideas strike me when I’m out talking with others or just working on something else and then, bam! Brilliant idea!”

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