Here are 11 modern workspace terms you should know!

First – The open-plan office… a design or floor plan that utilizes large open spaces and minimizes the use of private offices and high panel cubicles.

Open plans certainly allow more access to natural light and let you fit more people in less space, but recent studies are raising questions about their touted ability to increase collaboration and face-to-face interactions. They may, in fact, do the opposite.

To accommodate open plans, commercial furniture manufacturers have created new kinds of systems.

Benching – a metal frame and table base structure usually with minimal separation using screens and pedestals.

And Desking, more versatile than benching systems, are clusters of work areas, with casegoods or storage options separating the workers.

Some companies are using these new systems in a free address environment where workspaces are unassigned and sensors, way finding, and scheduling systems are used to find open spaces to sit.

Many free address environments utilize hot desking… in which employees outnumber desks. Work spaces have power, access to internet and sometimes even their own computers so that employees can ‘touch down’ to work.

Another modern term is Flexible Space. Flexible workspace or flexispace, is a type of office space fitted with basic equipment that allows employees who aren’t in the office every day to have a physical office to come to when needed. Flexible spaces also let companies easily change their working environments as their business grows and changes.

Many believe the ultimate flexible workspace is a blend of the home and the office, where both spaces are used for professional and personal pursuits.

To this extent, commercial furniture continues to look more residential… a trend some in the furniture industry are calling resimercial.

To build on a more comfortable work environment, we have Biophilia, meaning ‘a love of life and the living world.’ Biophiliac Design celebrates this connection at work, promoting the deep connection humans have to other forms of life… to nature.

Wellness at work continues to be a major trend. Height-Adjustable Worksurfaces, also known as sit-to-stand desks or HATs, are being specified in most major offices today.

In the commercial furniture world, typicals are your workstations and private offices… where as ancillary furniture are pieces used in less formal areas… lounge, stools, benches, sofas, side chairs, end tables, cafes, etc. Due to all the terms we’ve discussed, we’re seeing the amount of ancillary furniture specified in modern spaces increasing.

Working environments are constantly changing. To stay up to date on the latest work trends and solutions, connect with our team of experienced space professionals who can help you design, furnish, install and service your entire space.

Thanks for watching this video and have a successful week!