Supporting workplace learning through innovative office design

Today’s progressive workers are increasingly in pursuit of more from their workplace, seeking out work environments that support their social, cultural, technology and workplace learning demands.

A satisfying and inspiring workplace fit out that meet these desires is no longer something nice to have but a necessity for any organisation that is looking to attract and retain the best talent. Practices that instil worker engagement are now more crucial than ever in gaining employer contentment and productivity.  We’ve taken a look at some key initiatives that support employee learning and can be integrated into your next workplace design or refurbishment project.

Create space for play and creation:

Modern working cultures grew out of industrialisation and the idea of measurable productivity. With many employees now believing that their future success depends on their ability to be creative, the future workplace is much more complex and we are seeing a change in values from a highly pragmatic thought process to one that values cross current and creativity based thinking. In order to allow these processes to occur it is important to include space for ‘play’ and experimental learning. These spaces might be included as a ‘workshop’ and offer open plan space with less formal, casual furniture and varied soft seating options.

Space to support inter-generational learning and mentoring:

As we see the 5G (Fifth Generation) workforce emerging, with 50+ workers remaining in the workforce for longer, working alongside 20somethings each eager to learn from one another, it is important to allow for space that facilitates peer learning. This is space that allows for collaboration and mentoring to take place which in turn leads to upskilling. By bringing professional networking under one roof you create fertile grounds for collaborative learning, which empowers workers – and is also an internal support community.

Adaptable space:

Above all else, in order to facilitate learning in both a changing work culture and more diversified workforce, offices need to become more adaptable, designed and built to satisfy multifaceted identities and to meet the ‘always on’ demands we have set upon our workforce. Your space needs to be diverse in its’ offerings and cater for people to reconnect with their peer groups or industry specialists. This enables the sharing of knowledge and offers space for focus so that knowledge can be retained and space for experimental learning all under the one roof.

Get in touch with one of our workplace experts today to find out how you can influence workplace learning through your office fit out project:
Workplace design London
Workplace design Amsterdam