In the past 20 years, offices have transformed from an endless sea of cubicles, copying machines and desktop computers to the productive, sleek, and modern office of today.

Standards in workplace safety, happiness, functionality have become a primary concern of executives and employees alike. Working smarter, optimizing workspaces and encouraging leadership has created a safer workplace for employees across all trades. In today’s article, we will discuss a few ways how technology, quality, and leadership is changing modern office environments as we know it.

1.    Increase Efficiency with Virtual Rooms & Meetings

Since the advent of cloud-based computing software, information security has been a significant concern. Businesses needed a solution to preserve sensitive information against both cyber-attacks, internal data breaches, and natural disasters. The answer? VDRs. Virtual data rooms or VDRs are secure systems where professionals can view sensitive information without compromising security, anywhere in the world. VDRs also allow businesses to show their accountability to shareholders and investors that the data of the company secure in the highest regard.

Virtual reality is another method that has been implemented to increase efficiency with great success. The technology that allows users to see into a virtual world isn’t science fiction; it’s reality. The savings aren’t bad either, the cost of conducting focus groups via VR as opposed to physical groups has shown a  50% reduction in overall expenses. The best part is this technology can be used in every field of business, from law enforcement to industrial pipe engineering. We’re only limited by our imaginations at this point with a limitless supply of increasing technology.

2.    Stick to Workplace Standards

Increases in workplace standards and employee happiness are leading to fewer job-related injuries and deaths. Employee welfare is paramount to a successful business. Problems such as addiction and mental and emotional wellbeing should be taken very seriously. To give you an idea of how vital awareness is, 9.5% of adults suffer from some form of depressive mental illness, 66% of all workplace accidents occur because of drug and alcohol addiction, which costs employers roughly $100 billion per year. To effectively reduce these horrible events, a proactive mindset is the better approach instead of dealing with aftermaths. The modern business must do their part in ensuring a safe and stable work environment for their employees by implementing methods to improve workplace safety. Methods like increased individual authority and responsibility, reducing workplace stressors and tailoring your processes to address variables as they arise.

3.    Improve Quality

A workplace is a place where everyone should feel a sense of creativity, innovation, and comfort while bolstering unity and workflow. Quality is where companies have begun flexing their creative muscles and changing the office from drab and sterile to sleek modern flow dojos. Incorporating higher quality utilities reduces upkeep by implementing advanced technology and increased connectivity by utilizing IoT across a variety of devices.

Altering the environment to be calming by adding indoor plants, natural colors, and elements like rock panels, wood and metal eases the mind and reduces stress. Small creative gestures will go a long way in freshening things up and allowing employees to have faith in the companies and the valuable work they do.

4.    Take a Look at the Leaders

Compassion, knowledge, creativity, and being bold are several qualities that define a decent leader from a successful one. Promoting innovation as a collaborative effort is what leads a team to success in leadership.  Google’s HR leader Laszlo Bock says to treat workplace happiness as moral vs. a business goal; happy employees are bold and creative, everything is significant to success. Remember, good leader studies and implements new ideas. Having a team of strong leaders is essential now more than ever because we live in an era where we are discovering things for the first time, and it’s important we work for a brighter tomorrow together.