Workplace trends react to need for comfort

Kris Evans, ASID, IIDA, principal and interior designer at Interior Planning Consultants, said several trends in office furniture and design were evident at the Neocon Commercial Furniture Market in Chicago that she recently attended.

One of the things she noticed was that all of the new furniture products were flexible and adaptable to give workers more of what they want.

"People are coming to work with a whole new set of expectations. They want to seek greater meaning and fulfillment in their work it's kind of a different attitude and they also want greater control over all aspects of their work, you know, what kind of tools they use," Evans said.

Evans said one new product on the market this year is a system called Contrada by furniture manufacturer Trendway. She said Contrada is basically a frame structure that allows employees to make their own revisions with the materials of their choice.

"It's giving them more of an option to be creative; it's giving choice to the clients to make their own environment," she said. Contrada also offers plenty of wiring and panel options.

Evans said many of the changes in workspace design and furniture products are designed for ergonomics and comfort.

Lighting, or more specifically, the lack of it, is becoming more of an issue in workspace design.

The Canopy task light designed by Steelcase is one new product that's designed to give employees more light where they need it in their workspace.

According to a brochure from Steelcase, the Canopy task light "projects light farther in all directions and distributes it more evenly without hot spots or glare." It also delivers 2.5 times more usable light than traditional desktop lights and allows users to tailor the amount of light they use to their individual needs.

Steelcase's focus on better lighting was the result of its research on the issue. In "Seeing the Difference: the Importance of Quality Lighting in the Workplace," a Steelcase publication, the company noted that two out of every three, or 66 percent of the people who responded to its survey, said they had experienced physical problems from poorly lit work environments.

A 1997 survey by the American Society of Interior Decorators found that 68 percent of all office workers surveyed were concerned about lighting, and consistently rated poor lighting as the first or second most important concern to be addressed.

"Light has a significant impact on our performance in the workplace. Research shows conclusively that when you get it right, a quality lighting program can boost productivity and performance, reduce fatigue and eyestrain, and increase an organization's opportunity for success," Steelcase stated.

Evans said another interesting trend in office furniture and workspace design is a different type of environment the natural one. Furniture manufacturers are beginning to use more dyes and products that are environmentally safe, and many manufacturers are taking more responsibility for the wood they use to create their products, she said.

"Companies are having their own trees. I mean, they have their own forests and they replenish them as they use their trees, so they have total control of their wood for their products," Evans added.

Although workers' concerns, expectations and needs will likely continue to determine furniture and office design trends, Evans said those could become more pronounced as the number of older workers in the workplace increases. She said issues affecting older workers haven't yet become prevalent in Springfield, but they will eventually.

"I don't think we've hit it yet, but we're getting there. The unemployment rate is very low in Springfield and all around. It's getting harder to attract new workers and businesses are having to be more competitive," she said.

"The United States is going to be having more and more aging people working, because the work force with younger people is getting smaller."

Dr. Bradley Fisher, director of the gerontology department at Southwest Missouri State University, agreed.

"There are more and more older people out there who are vital, vibrant and able to work, and as you see the unemployment figures continue to plummet, there's going to be a need to have workers," he said.

Fisher noted that some statistics indicate the average age of retirement has decreased. However, he said, many older people who retire early will return to the work force and begin second careers, sometimes for a sense of purpose and often because of financial need.

He said Social Security, which statistics show is the primary source of income for more than half of the people in the United States older than 65, is another reason that some people will work in their later years.

"As they raise the age at which people are eligible for Social Security, I do think that it's going to motivate some people to stay in the work force longer," he said. "Slowly, they're raising that benchmark of when you can get full Social Security."

Fisher said because of the changes happening in Social Security, consideration of older workers' needs is important.

Evans said comfort, productivity and safety are three factors ergonomics should address for workers of all ages, but they may have to be emphasized for older workers.

"As you have more of an older work force, you're really going to have to cater to this stuff," she said.