Inside Ikea’s post-pandemic Singapore office – yes, the furniture is its own – plus how Herman Miller, Steelcase are adapting to new workspace needs

Only time will tell what the “new normal” looks like post-pandemic, but while the world has its thinking cap on, some of the biggest names in office design and fit-out have been using results gathered from the largest work-from-home experiment ever to create environments for a wary workforce.

In April, Swedish giant Ikea, not known for its office products despite being the world’s largest home furnishing retailer, reinvented the workspace of its Singapore headquarters and in the process found a formula that prompted a relaunch of its little-known B2B offering, Ikea for Business.

At the office in Singapore’s Tampines neighbourhood, Ikea decided on an office rebuild to meet the government’s new social distancing rules and create an inspiring space to which people would want to return – at 50 per cent capacity, for now – after nine months of working from home.

The process began with a survey of the office’s 180 staff, says Gwinna Wareewanish, Ikea Southeast Asia’s head of interior design, who oversaw the refurbishment.

“We initially asked for their opinion on working from home, their feelings about returning to work and what they thought the old office could improve on,” she says. “Then we looked at how we all worked through the pandemic on different tasks, such as focused individual work at home and connecting online, and their efficiency.”