It’s been five years since COVID-19 sent office workers home to work remotely. Now companies want their employees back in the office, but workers aren't quite ready to give up the comforts of home.
The desire to bring the comforts of home to work is driving the latest office design trends. That's according to local architects, interior designers and furniture dealers who are helping companies coax their workers back to the office.
They're creating a sense of comfort and community in workplaces with human-centric upgrades. That can mean choosing furniture or colors that evoke comfort, adding fun amenities like a coffee bar and creating spaces that are more flexible and adaptable.
That's something that helps with recruiting new employees and keeping the ones they already have happy. It also helps companies stay flexible and adaptable — and ready for whatever the next big disruption may be for work culture.
One of Hawaiʻi's largest architecture firms is using a human-centric approach in the current renovation of its own office space in downtown Honolulu.
Colette Abe Lee is the director of interior design at the architecture firm AHL. She says the firm's office used to be very sleek and crisp.
Now it has more vibrancy, with more color, more artwork. Lee said the firm is embracing what she calls the touchy-feely aspects of design that make people feel at home and comfortable — and that make them want to come to work.
