Taking a more intelligent approach to the office: five trends that will impact Australian workplaces in 2025
Expect to see organisations look for opportunities to optimise their operations and overheads for greater efficiency and employee satisfaction.
Another new year is upon us, one which will contain more than its fair share of challenges for local businesses and organisations. Ongoing economic headwinds and the cost of living crisis will likely constrain demand and compel companies to work harder and smarter to maintain profitability and growth.
Further, the uncertainty of an impending federal election, coupled with potential changes to policy settings that may ensue, is likely to impact business strategic planning and investments, particularly in areas like technology and infrastructure, as organisations wait for more precise direction.
Against this backdrop, the next 12 months will see business leaders and decision-makers spending money on programs and practices that allow them to minimise overheads and focus on achieving business outcomes while emphasising improving the employee experience.
Here are the top five workplace trends that will play out in Australia in 2025.
- Designing more appealing offices
Five years after the onset of the Covid crisis, it's fair to say that hybrid working is well and truly here to stay, with 36% of Australians regularly working from home*.
Workers across all demographics have given the modus operandi the thumbs up – and they're willing to walk away from employers that don't enable them to enjoy the autonomy and flexibility it provides. It's a status quo prompting many businesses to invest in ensuring their offices are both functional and appealing – places employees genuinely want to be, at least some of the time. The following 12 months will bring more instances of workspace redesign and an uptick in technology spending to give employees access to the latest release equipment and solutions that make it easier for them to do their jobs.
- Optimising the meeting room experience
Nowhere is that increased investment likely to be more evident than in the meeting room. The latest video conferencing technology can elevate the meeting experience for in-person attendees and remote joiners alike. Innovative technology such as immersive ultra-high-definition video, AI-powered cameras, microphones, and smart whiteboards will all enhance communication and collaboration in the workplace. Expect to see more lavish spending on infrastructure, allowing the latter to feel like they're actually in the room, not listening in from afar.
Ensuring these technologies are always operational and ready to use will be critical as businesses increasingly prioritise employee productivity and seamless collaboration. The ability to avoid downtime and disruption during meetings is becoming a key focus for businesses, recognising that even minor technical delays can have a ripple effect on overall efficiency. Managed services that are responsible for monitoring, maintaining, and supporting meeting room systems are becoming essential. By outsourcing these tasks to specialised service providers like Ricoh, organisations can ensure their technology is always running smoothly, freeing internal IT teams to focus on higher-value priorities and enabling employees to collaborate without interruption.
Importantly, employers are not the only ones investing in meeting room technology. Faced with high vacancy rates in key markets, some landlords have begun upgrading the meeting rooms in their buildings to attract and retain quality tenants. In the absence of a sudden surge in demand for CBD premises, many more are likely to follow their lead as the new year progresses.
- Making meetings more meaningful
Over the years, meetings have acquired a bad reputation, courtesy of the fact that, for many attendees, they represent a poor use of time. Of late, however, local businesses have begun harnessing the power of AI to make them more efficient and meaningful. Microsoft's co-pilot, for example, takes notes, produces meeting transcripts and summaries, and documents takeaway actions – tasks that dedicated minute takers would formerly perform. As technologies like this evolve, they will quickly become universal in the public sector and worldwide.
- Monitoring ESG efforts
As of 1 January 2025, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting will be mandatory for Australian organisations with an annual revenue of $50 million. Measuring emissions across the enterprise promises to be a time-consuming and challenging exercise, sending businesses searching for AI-powered workplace management solutions like RICOH Spaces that can take much of the hard work and hassle out of the process. Digital tools and technologies, including IoT sensor arrays and building monitoring platforms that can track data such as real-time energy use that allow businesses to gather the raw data they need and synthesise it into the government's required reporting format, will likely enjoy increasingly brisk trade.
- Stepping up the focus on cyber-security
Public awareness of cyber risk has risen exponentially in recent years, as has the level of risk itself. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) reported that cyber security incidents accounted for 38% of all data breaches between January and June 2024, marking a 9% increase from the previous six months.
This uptick underscores the imperative for companies to implement formidable defences as the likelihood of falling victim to cyber-attacks grows. That realisation has been the catalyst for increased investment in cyber tools and technologies, a trend that's set to continue with a vengeance into 2025 and beyond. Maintaining protection for staff working on-premises and remotely and for the information shared in public spaces such as meeting rooms – both physical and virtual – will be paramount. Spending decisions can be expected to reflect that focus.
* Source: Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), CEDA Data Insight: More Than a Third of Australians Still Work from Home as Office Mandates Loom, by Senior Economist Melissa Wilson and Economist James Brooks.
