A year of change… What will 2017 bring?
Chris Lunn • December 23, 2016

 There's no doubting 2016 has been a momentous year – Brexit, the US Presidential Election, Leicester City winning the English Premiership on initial bookmaker odds of 5000-1 and England's unbeaten record in the rugby!

As it draws to an end (phew!), it's natural to start looking forward to the coming year and to wonder what 2017 will bring. With Trump as President and Britain edging towards an exit from the EU, it certainly won't be dull. In the world of business, it will be exciting to see what new opportunities, innovations, technology and ideas begin to emerge.

Change is a constant factor in the overlapping spheres of buildings, work, interiors and business. 'To stand still is to fall behind.'
Glenside is looking forward to building on its successful portfolio of projects completed across a diverse range of businesses. These have included innovative mezzanine floor solutions when space has been limited, to striking a balance between accommodating growing staff numbers and collaborative breakout spaces.

An increasing trend – and one we think is going to feature strongly in 2017 – is the designing of office space based on the concept of agile working. Increasingly, office spaces are about connecting people by creating collaborative zones for both formal and impromptu co-working, alongside areas for individual, focused work. Employees are commonly provided with a laptop or bring their own device. Less and less are staff tied to one workstation with a fixed PC and phone.

Flexible working patterns – the ability to choose how, when and where to work – is another movement that we expect to continue. Working with global partners and the 'always open' culture means that businesses have to be available for longer and longer hours to respond to business or personal customers. Employees, however, can't be expected to work ever increasing hours so this is where flexible working patterns fill the need by utilising a number of personnel to cover the extended working day.

Growing corporate responsibility for environment and climate change might also impact working patterns and office space design and use. Recycling stations and management of resources are increasingly incorporated into office space designs. Furthermore, working-from-home arrangements have a direct effect of reducing emissions from commuting. Therefore, businesses might look to refurbish current office space and make better use of existing footprint in conjunction with telecommuting arrangements rather than look to expand their floor space.

So that's what we're predicting as being 'on trend' for office spaces and the world of work in 2017 and anticipating it now means we are already in a good position to respond.

Glenside Commercial Interiors LLP wish everyone a prosperous 2017 and hope that it brings you and your business growth and new opportunities.

This post was written by the Managing Director of Glenside Commercial Interiors LLP and originally appeared on LinkedIn. View original article.

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