Alternative Design® Blog
The Workplace in 2030: 5 Trends to Watch by Kaelynn Reid
It’s 2024, and many of us are still just trying to keep up with the changing tides of workplace and what the office will look like moving forward. But in our latest episode of the Alternative Design podcast, Sitting is the New Side Hustle, we’re hitting the fast forward button on today and giving you a sneak peek into what we believe will be the top 5 trends leading up to the year 2030.
There won’t be any color of the year predictions just yet, but if you’re looking to understand how the future of the office could look from the perspective of employers, employees, designers, and even furniture manufacturers, you’ll want to listen up. Of course, if you want to hear our immersive forecast of the future of work in 2030, head to your podcast feed and download our season finale, Sitting is the New Side Hustle. Here are the top 5 trends we predict for the workplace in the year 2030.
5 Trends to Watch
Trend 1:
Blurred Lines for Human Connection
Furniture solutions will evolve to blend durability and beauty, leading to non-sector-specific designs and materials. Designers should expand their expertise across various sectors and employ universal design principles to inform multi-use spaces. Identify opportunities to utilize shared space types, especially in mixed-use buildings accommodating diverse industries, prioritizing those that foster natural human connection and well-being.
Trend 2:
Crafting Phygital Places
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Designers will have more opportunities to craft immersive brand experiences for clients, using interactive elements and digital technology to express company culture. Consider broadening expertise in areas such as augmented reality (AR), Digital Twin formations, and proprietary data set collections to enhance the value and accessibility of built environments.
Trend 3:
Security by Design
Users within spaces will gain greater control over personalizing their real-time experience through sensor-driven technologies. This enhanced control will foster inclusivity. However, it also necessitates designers advocating for ethical data practices, maintaining transparency, and prioritizing security and privacy in data collection and utilization.
Trend 4:
Life Subscribed
The increasing demand for customizable services and products may pave the way for new subscription models, potentially disrupting traditional revenue structures. As a result, a shift towards subscription-based services could fundamentally alter client relationships, transforming them into longer-term partnerships. In this evolving landscape, designers may find themselves guiding clients to navigate between ideal ownership and usership models, potentially exploring sustainable furniture subscription plans that incorporate circular models.
Trend 5:
Furniture Will Be Alive
Furniture will no longer be a static element in a space, but an active and "smart" piece of technology that will shape human outcomes and business solutions. With advanced technology, it will do everything from collect biometric data that can be leveraged by healthcare providers to harvesting kinetic energy to purifying the air of contaminants. Designers and manufacturers will need to continue exploring new use cases for furniture we have yet to imagine.
Related Alternative Design® Content
Sitting is the New Side Hustle: The Future of Work in 2030
By 2030, the workplace landscape will be completely redrawn. 9-5’s will be a thing of the past, making way for more modern forms of time tracking that will unlock completely new paradigms around where the “workplace” actually is. No one will be talking about “work-life balance” anymore, because instead, work and life will be seamless. Employers will offer subscription-based amenities packages that utilize personal data to match employees to the lifestyle they want. But how did we get here?
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Episode 22 - Sitting is the New Side Hustle
Welcome to the season finale episode of the Alternative Design podcast. In "Sitting is the New Side Hustle," we reveal our forecast for the Future of Work in 2030. We explore a world where furniture coordinates everything from personal data collection to generating extra income from energy-producing surfaces. Join us as we delve into the seamless integration of work and life, where values and purpose hold more significance than a paycheck.
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