The new decade has brought with it transformational changes to the world of work leaving lasting effects on us all. As we enter into a new way of working, let’s look over the previous 50 years and see how far we’ve come. What has changed, what hasn’t?
The office landscape
In the 1950s, office layouts took a slightly new direction, influenced by a German workplace design style called Burolandschaft
- The style eventually made it’s way from Europe to the UK and then to the USA in the 1960s
- This was the beginning of the open-plan office
The functional office
Utopian and functional, office design in the 1990s was more utilitarian
- Computers became an essential item for almost everyone
- More casual office attire became more common, with men not having to wear suits and ties and women having more freedom to choose from a variety of styles
“Cool” offices
The 2010s saw a huge shift in how the design of the office did not only change how people worked but their relationship with the workplace environment, and employees expected more
- Highly designed, bright and vibrant offices with a mix of different spaces to work evolved, bringing to life the concept of the ‘breakout space’
- Technology became ever-present, with it more neatly woven into the fabric of the space
- As technology advanced the workforce became much more mobile and began to demand flexibility in how, when, and where they worked
2020s
As people begin to return to the office and adapt to the new normal, organizations need to be able to provide a safe working environment for their employees.
- Deploying a desk management solution can help businesses manage capacity and density of their workspace, whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines.
Cubicle Farm
The focus of the office layout moved away from healthy working conditions towards more productivity and profitability in the 1980s
Action office
This model included a variety of work settings for staff, increased freedom of movement, and greater privacy when working with the ability of workers to personalize their space.
- The influence of this workplace design was that it provided staff the choice and flexibility to work in a position suitable for the task at hand.
Significant changes
1985
- Mobile phones were first launched
- First Apple Mac computer went on sale
- The first dot.com business was registered
- Network file system – the file system that brought us to the age of network storage
- PowerPoint was released
- Corporate culture started to become a priority in the workplace
2000s
The 2000s were a time of evolution and revolution in the way people worked
- Technology and high-speed connectivity became hyper prevalent in society
- In the 2000s the term ‘coworking’ was coined
- Coworking spaces became more popular, giving rise to employees working in alternative spaces to the office
Smoking culture
Organizations such as the American Cancer Society were growing in popularity to try to put a stop to smoking in the workplace
- Discrimination based on sex wasn’t illegal until the introduction of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
- The term “sexual harassment” wasn’t even devised until 1975
1970s
The first ergonomic office chair was established in this decade, with the user’s physical health and comfort in mind; and with the office space more designed to focus on bringing individual workers the freedom to be creative and work autonomously.
- Smoking in offices was still the norm.
