New solutions give people what they need and expect from their workplace.
After months working from home, people have become acutely aware of what they need and want from their workplaces. Tired of spending days filled with back-to-back Zoom meetings and juggling home and work responsibilities, they’re looking forward to returning to the office and reconnecting with peers in person. But they also expect to experience the benefits working from home allowed: more autonomy, more flexibility and more control. They do not want to return to the same workplace they left. They expect a better work experience.
Better will require organizations to rethink their workplaces and solve for an even more diverse set of needs. Safety, of course, tops the list, but organizations will also need to address other issues, such as workplace belonging, productivity, comfort and control. And they’ll need new solutions for new patterns of work that will see people working alone in more enclosed spaces that provide them with visual and territorial privacy, and collaborating more in the open where they can feel a sense of safety and easily adjust the number of participants.
Steelcase designers and engineers have been working on innovative product solutions to deliver on these new needs and expectations. Today, we’re introducing five new products designed to make work better.
Reimagined Retreats
Even before the pandemic, people struggled to find privacy at work. Steelcase Work Tents solve that problem by offering people a range of flexible and captivating privacy solutions – from simple screens to small enclosed structures – that keep distractions at bay.
Define Your Destination
Teams work best when they have a place to call home. Steelcase Flex Active Frames can make any space a productive and inspiring home for teams in the open office. A range of materiality and customizable configurations lets you make it your own. The multimodal space supports the larger team at the West Elm Work Greenpoint Meeting Table, while someone works alone at the standing-height table.
Chair of Choice
At home, many people struggled to be comfortable – citing a lack of ergonomic support as an issue in recent research. The Marien 152 Seating Collection provides comfort and support in the conference rooms and social settings with the feel of home.Created in collaboration with the Coalesse Design Group and globally renowned designer Arik Levy, the Marien152 collection can be easily personalized through a wide range of color, form and materiality choices.
Room to Roam
Let your creative juices flow in this studio built for brainstorms. The Steelcase Flex Collection empowers teams to adapt their space on demand to collaborate and get ideas moving. The Steelcase Roam mobile stand for the Surface Hub 2S 85” keeps people active and moving and gives teams the freedom to collaborate anywhere, anytime and at a larger scale. The larger scale is especially important as more collaboration happens remotely; it allows for more equal participation.
Comfortable Concentration
After having worked from home, many people are used to being able to control their need for privacy. The Orangebox Coppice Workbooth’s superior sound-absorbing properties provide just the privacy you need to focus, escape or make a call between meetings. Create a stand-alone personal retreat or a bank of focus booths with easily-reconfigurable components that keep you sheltered from noise and distractions in the busy open plan office.