In this post-pandemic age, which are the trends of the new workplaces and what is Herman Miller’s vision?
We talked about it with Emmanuel Delvaux, Vice President Europe at Herman Miller.
In this interview, Emmanuel Delvaux, Vice President Europe at Herman Miller, explained to Wow Web Magazine, to what an extent the concept of work and office spaces have changed after the pandemic. According to some post-pandemic statistics in fact, at present about 80% of employers thinks employees should be working from home for a specific number of days a week.
This means a higher flexibility for workers to manage their time and benefits employers by being attractive to the prospective employees.. Moreover employees have the opportunity to make better use of their time. Rather than spending it commuting, they can dedicate it to their hobbies, families and friends as well as to work.
In our interview, the Vice President also pointed out how people found themselves working from home all of a sudden, without having the comfort of the office. People had to adapt to work from sofas, kitchen tables and bedrooms, often disturbed by family members. They could also adopt wrong postures that are harmful to health.
Today, therefore it is essential to introduce ergonomic tools and furnishing solutions into home office spaces. It allowed people to work safely and healthily at home and at the same time to create in the office the collaborative and convivial mood typical of home.
Herman Miller’s strategy to keep up with these needs in reality is rooted in the
past. Years ago, with the “Living Office” concept, the brand aimed at understanding which were the employees’ activities as a whole.
Today as well, in an increasingly collaborative workplace, it is crucial to be able to create hybrid and multifunctional spaces, to combine the benefits of both the home office and traditional offices.
Fluidity is the keyword of the present workplace. We need to stop too restricted workplaces and say yes to newly conceived open spaces which are more open to collaboration and capable of taking on more functions.
Therefore, flexible tables and chairs for a day, a week and month or even more are ideal. Employees and workers must be able to manage their time and the space in a flexible way.
In this way only, a new balance can be found.
Text by Elena Marzorati
