The Modern Office Trends to Look Out for in 2024

Key Trends Shaping Future Workspaces

Workplaces keep on evolving. As new thoughts on work-life balance have emerged along with an increase in the use of remote and hybrid work models around the globe, many organizations are looking for the next steps in creating the modern workplace.

Last year, McKinsey noted that the pandemic accelerated the trend for remote work and virtual meetings, as well as the adoption of digital technologies – specifically automation and AI. And as we look to 2024, both make the list as top trends to watch and focus on when seeking to drive growth and efficiency.

Below we look at the following five top modem office trends to focus on in 2024:

1. Cutting edge technologies
2. More workplace accessibility
3. Increased digital transformation
4. Shifting to an agile workplace environment design
5. Continued increase of remote and hybrid work

1. Embrace Cutting-Edge Technologies

The top trend we see for the modern office this year is embracing new cutting-edge technologies that drive automation and intelligent business decisions. Specifically, we see a focus on smart sensors and workplace analytics.

Smart Sensors

One of the newest solutions to hit the market for offices in the last few years are smart workplace sensors that help automate and handle various business scenarios. From automated confirmations and check-ins to quickly identifying no-shows or quickening turnover procedures, workplace sensors are an easy way to create a smart office.

Desk occupancy sensors can use temperature data to determine occupancy, while motion sensors help detect the presence of people in a room or zoned area. Add-On Products’ workplace integration solution works with different sensors enabling room or desk sensor’s API to communicate with Microsoft 365 to give you smarter insights, automated functionality, and capabilities for workspace and office management.

Check out the key functionalities of Add-On Products’ smart sensor solution here >

Workspace Analytics and Insights

Data is a gold mine for any organization and for businesses looking to understand how to make the most of their space and resources, workspace analytics solutions can help significantly. Studies show that a lot of office space is unoccupied during a typical working week these days.

That is a lot of unused space, and more importantly, wasted resources and company budget.

A workplace analytics and reporting solution like Insights can help a business better understand and optimize their space and meeting room usage, as well as identify resource usage and employee behavioral patterns without violating employee privacy.

View more about Add-On Products Insights with this quick brochure >

2. Create More Accessibility in the Workplace

Accessibility is a big trend for 2024. Accessibility in this case though means considering ways to create smart offices that leverage a combination of technology, data, and workplace design, to drive informed design decisions.

We like to think of this as giving employees more control over their work environment by building an ecosystem that benefits both the business and its workforce. [See how Genesis Housing Association used Add-On Products’ smart solutions to move to a flexible work model and saved £1 million year-per-year.]

Creating a more accessible workplace means understanding how areas are used in the office and adjusting them accordingly to meet real-time employee and business needs. Smart technologies like a mobile workspace app, can help employees locate and book the best workspaces, find colleagues, and give them autonomy to work the way they need for optimal performance.

Benefits of using smart technologies to create more accessibility

1. Maximize the use of space
2. Enhance employee well-being
3. Help employees achieve a healthier work-life balance
4. Offer more autonomy to employees for greater flexibility and empowerment
5. Improve workplace environment perception and experiences
6. Drive greater collaboration across and within teams

Explore smart office solutions that can help you create a more accessible workplace >

3. Digital Transformation for Increasing Productivity and Employee Satisfaction

Companies in 2024 will have to do more than just increase productivity. Improving the employee experience and encouraging collaboration go hand-in-hand with helping to accelerate growth.

This is where the trend of digital transformation comes in. In 2024, companies need to look at the traditional workplace elements that may need to transform to support a more flexible workforce and greater productivity. This will apply to the design of the workplace, the size of the workplace, resource usage and workplace technologies.

Digital transformations companies can make in 2024:

1. Use workspace booking technologies to make it easy to book meetings, desks and other workspaces. Downsizing the physical office can help reduce operating costs and support smaller in-office capacities as more employees move to hybrid or fully remote. But it can also create issues if you don’t have the right workspace booking solution in place to help balance in-office and remote employee workspace needs. (Tech to consider: Resource Central & Workspace)
2. Leveraging workplace analytics software to access actionable insights into employee behavior, productivity, and workplace efficiency. Understanding how specific workspaces and resources are utilized, identifying patterns, and how existing spaces can be modified for increased collaboration and efficacy, can help reduce overall operational costs, drive production efficiencies, and improve employee satisfaction. It can also help with influencing workplace design and how many desks or rooms are actually needed. (Tech to consider: Insights)

REAL WORLD EXAMPLE: Digital transformations lead to increased productivity and operational efficiency for Wessex Water

4. Designing a More Agile Work Environment

The footprint in the office is less predictable than before, so designing the workplace needs to be more flexible. For 2024, companies can benefit from creating a more agile working environment. Why?

Agile working allows a company to leverage the most accurate and effective way of carrying out a particular task. Within an agile working model people, places, processes, time, and technologies are all connected in a way designed to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency. Agile working also helps organizations to support employee well-being and work-life balance, both of which have become more important to workers around the globe in recent years. In fact, in one survey 70% of respondents said work-life balance was the most important feature when looking for a new job.

The four essentials for an agile environment in the workplace

1. Enable employees to communicate across workspaces
2. Being able to schedule workspaces as needed including desks, meeting rooms, and conference rooms
3. Operate the business on a centralized, connected system for seamless resource and operations efficiencies
4. Easily set up teams together for in-office meetings and events, accounting for hybrid and remote workers and teams

5. Remote and Hybrid Workplaces

According to data from EY’s Future Workplace Index, today, about 42% of company employees are using a hybrid work approach, and 31% are fully remote. EY also found that ultimately, companies will likely land at 59% remote work in the near future, with 75% of companies stating they “envision a future with no centralized workspace.”

To be more direct: the hybrid workplace is THE business model for the future, and the time to adapt to it is now.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLE: Ørsted connects 48 departments across Northern Europe for expedite and simplify meeting plannings, better connectiing 7,000 employees

> READ NEXT: What is Hybrid Work and the Benefits It Offers?

Making Your Office Work Smarter

There are a lot of ways an organization can take steps forward to improve employee experiences, productivity and innovation. And while each trend may not be applicable to every business industry or type, Add-On Products believes that there are always ways to integrate smart technologies into the workplace to make your business work smarter. Contact us today to set up time to talk with our team about how to achieve your goals more strategically in 2024 with smart digital transformations.