It is the year 2035. Though hybrid working is a norm, offices still exist and thrive. For many, their first steps into a company workspace may seem familiar to us today, but a closer look reveals significant changes. You can find sleep pods for midday naps. There’s a treadmill built into a standing desk. The conference room is a relaxed outdoor lounge amongst greenery.
The technology is there, but it takes time for you to notice it. Screens fit seamlessly into the walls. Cables and wiring are nearly extinct. Wireless glass keypads and control surfaces betray serious advances, yet it’s all kept minimal, almost hidden.
Looking even closer, we find these offices of the future to be the primary hubs of collaboration and social interaction. Bright, open desks invite discussions. A drink water dispenser in the studio is an instant social refuge. Finding spaces to exchange ideas is not a random afterthought, but a clear design.
Today’s millennials are the decision makers of this future, and their appreciation of past challenges manifest in investments in self-care. Even by today’s standards, the value for looking after the well being of the workforce is growing, because the virtual work realm has become a hyper-demanding taskmaster.
With the advent of generative AI today, it will be certain that our reliance on technology will be amplified in increasing magnitude. And as we have seen in recent years, the biggest toll taken on the working individual is not just on the physical body, but the mind.
The office of the future evinces the need to look after our mental well-being. Digital noise is everywhere in so many forms, and often around the clock, 24/7. Productivity at work today takes a beating from physical as well as virtual distractions, so having a well-designed workplace can no longer be deemed a luxury, but a necessity.
Mind, body and water
Aspects of clever design will take precedence over traditional thinking. Case in point: that drinking water dispenser in the middle of the meeting room? It serves multiple essential purposes - it is there by intentional design.
The brain itself needs water. Our minds function best when it is healthy, and at its optimum when fully hydrated. The human brain is approximately 73% to 80% water, and is essential for thought and memory processing, as well as mood and memory capability. Even slight dehydration can negatively impact attention and motor skills.
We must not forget that even if our workplace is highly digitised and automated, the most powerful and productive processor on hand is still the human brain. Our brain still decides when AI is implemented, what is proper input, what is right or wrong.
Having a drinking water dispenser where it is needed, where it can be easily accessed, where it makes sense - that is a design function which serves the need for better mental health. A hydrated mind is a healthy mind, and the better your workforce has access to drinking water, the better they can tackle the tasks on hand.
Alone again, unnaturally
The social benefits of the drink dispenser in a central area cannot be ignored. The need for human interaction and connection has intensified due to hybrid and work-from-home situations. Even more so because virtual, digital work is in truth a very personal, even lonely, task - especially when done at the intense pace demanded by today.
But having a ‘water-cooler’ conversation with a colleague - a seemingly random chit-chat catchup where you converse about any topic that comes to mind - immediately breaks the monotony of data-processing and ends any imagined isolation. Scientist even attribute physical social interactions to better stress management, less anxiety and better quality of sleep.
Another value for the shared communal drink water dispenser is the creation of routine. Having regular trips during the day to refill a drink container stimulates movement, and helps create pathways in our minds similar to taking ‘mini-breaks’ from stress. Routines provide structure and predictability, something that is uncommon in a noisy digital space.
Hydration is a productivity tool
Needless to say, aspects of this future office is already here today, brought to life by forward-thinking designers of BRITA of Germany. Like a veritable oasis in the desert, the BRITA Top Pro is a commercial-grade water filtration dispenser that provides a choice of four water types - warm and chilled still water, chilled semi-sparkling and sparkling water - All from just one dispenser.
Then there is the BRITA Extra C-Tap, a sleek stainless steel on-counter filtration system with a glass touch panel that offers the same water types as the BRITA Top Pro, as well as hot water on demand.
To highlight how clever design can be inclusive, BRITA also offers an accessible control unit for the Extra C-Tap to provide easy access for wheelchair users.
These innovative BRITA designs were conceived not just solely for the water filtration needs of the future, but also by a deeper desire to significantly reduce the amount of single-use plastic bottle waste. To the millennials today who will be aspiring to lead a brighter world of tomorrow, a better future starts now.
