Third Spaces | Workplace Design That Draws Employees In
As future workplaces put a greater emphasis on virtual communication, workplace designers are being faced with a new challenge. How can we create physical spaces that still encourage face-to-face interaction and meet the innate need for human connection?
In Kimball “Sophisticozy 2019” discusses how many now view the workplace as a second home, so employees are drawn to comfortable environments where they can work, socialize, and be themselves. Engaging workplaces now integrate connection points and collaboration zones where people can interact.
These “third spaces” draw people in and encourage them to take a few moments to pause from work. This act of slowing down allows for chance interactions between co-workers, encouraging socialization and connection. When employees take a break from their focused tasks and enter a light-filled room that offers refreshment, one that’s lively and healthy, they enter a different frame of mind, one more conducive to creative ideas and new connections.