Why we need physical, mental and emotional exercise
Even though we are still discussing what the future holds for home office options, many employees are continuing to spend time in the office and with colleagues. Offices or forms of work organisation that are designed for linear processes (rows of individual tables, individual offices, seated meetings) do not adequately support process-oriented teams or informal, spontaneous get-togethers. Teams need flexible posture changes and agile working in order to be able to master the demands of everyday work. Similarly, companies have to provide more space and resources in the creation of team areas and communal areas that allow successful and productive work as well as experimental teamwork.
Flexible and customisable
Rooms must therefore be easily reconfigurable (furniture on castors or glides, partition walls etc) so that people have the opportunity to use them as the situation requires. A study at the University of Applied Sciences in Rosenheim on the subject of learning worlds of the future, has shown that spatial concepts have a direct influence on the learning performance of students. Whether students feel comfortable, are motivated and can concentrate depends on the size, light conditions, acoustics and atmosphere of the classroom.
Flexibility has to be learned. The trend is moving towards agile working and interactive learning. For teamwork, which can be supported by flexible furniture and media technology. In this way, new concepts can arise from innovative room concepts. In predominantly mobile positions, such as standing, the students in the study achieved positive results and new ideas far more often than when they were sitting. If the room layout was adapted to the task, learning behaviour and group work improved, as did the decision-making process. By working with varied posture changes and while standing, creativity and accuracy when making decisions could also be noticeably increased.
An optimal working environment meets the above requirements without neglecting the needs of the individual.
