Barco, a world leader in workplace visualization and collaboration solutions conducted a big survey of 1200 executives across 13 countries to find out how the office is changing, and how workspaces are used. The main objective was to find out how the covid pandemic and lockdowns (leading to forced working-from-home of the entire staff) have affected the global office spaces. The results show a clear desire for more engaging and inspiring workplaces, although regional differences are striking.

Some key findings:

• 62% of respondents say employees are happy to return to the office
• 23% are transforming auditoriums and experience centers based on new staff expectations
• 73% feel that large video walls will help people to collaborate and interact
• 45% say that large video walls can create a wow effect and impress whoever enters the lobby

It goes without question that the covid-pandemic has changed the way offices work. Repeated lockdowns forced the workplace to evolve and shift between remote, in-office and hybrid work models. This forced office culture and technology to change in a rapid pace, accommodating the evolving expectancies and needs of the staff. That is why companies are redesigning their office spaces around their vision, mission and strategy, helping to create a wow factor, inspire people to do their best work, seamlessly blend digital and physical design, nurture company culture and deliver training.

Glad to be back!

A first noteworthy finding from the survey is that employees enjoy being back at the office. 62% of respondents agree with this. The office is no longer just the place for desk work, but rather a dynamic space for better meetings, stronger collaboration and social interaction. An important example of the evolved way to use office technology are video walls. They were typically used to grab the attention of external visitors but are now transformed into tools to engage employees and improve collaboration and productivity.

Lobbies: the beating heart of the enterprise

Corporate lobbies have evolved from their traditional function (greeting visitors or having them wait) into places to create an impactful first impression and to instill pride in employees. According to the survey, the lobby is the second most chosen space for meetings (49%), and aims to impress whoever (staff or visitors) enters the building (45%).

The survey covers a lot more ground and provides many more insights, including how covid has created the need for change, employee expectancies for office work, ways to convert office spaces into more engaging environments, etc. Do you want to read the full report? Then click the button below!