Today’s Most-Desired Office Amenities

Two Drydock outdoor patio, with panoramic views of the Boston skyline. Image courtesy of SGA

The top amenities currently in demand by office users are a mix of both continuing and emerging trends, including coffee shops, air-purification systems, access to outdoor space, grab-and-go/premade breakfast and lunch, and quiet lounges, a new survey by SGA has found.

SGA is a national, multi-disciplinary firm with offices in Boston and New York City and whose work spans interior design, architecture and master planning for commercial clients and life sciences, academic and mixed-use projects.

The firm’s survey results, SGA says, “demonstrate a reflection of larger societal shifts: a greater focus on personal well-being and safety, interest in sustainable modes of transportation, convenient places to grab food and packages, and spaces that facilitate social interactions.”

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The survey also found that office workers don’t need “an overly robust amenity program in their building or campus,” with options like pet grooming or athletic courts. Instead, SGA observes, “Traditional amenities such as a staffed security desk and reservable meeting rooms continue to be important while modern amenities like IT bars, bike parking and gender-neutral restrooms are emerging trends demonstrating the state of the evolving workplace.”

Two Drydock interior. Image courtesy of SGA

Health and wellness was a key area in the survey. Besides 86 percent of respondents saying an air-purification system is a must-have or highly desirable, 78 percent said the same about access to an outdoor patio or roof deck. While two-thirds said a basic unstaffed fitness center is a must-have or highly desirable, only about one-third (35 percent) ranked a “robust staffed fitness center” as desirable.

“With hybrid work the new norm, spaces and programs that facilitate connectivity—both in-person and virtually—are highly desirable,” SGA reports. They noted, for instance, that flexible meeting areas let tenants accommodate large gatherings without having to dedicate rentable space to only occasional functions.

Also on the productivity side, quiet lounges and staffed IT/tech bars were rated by 72 percent and 64 percent of respondents as must-have or highly desirable amenities, respectively.

Basic needs

People get hungry and e-commerce is stronger than ever, so emerging trends favor pickup areas for the delivery of meals and lockers for package deliveries. Also desired are convenience stores and food trucks.

Emerging trends related to transportation include EV charging stations (52 percent must-have or strongly desirable) and bike parking and bike repair facilities (44 percent strongly or somewhat desirable).

Respondents spanned 19 states, though nearly 90 percent were in the Northeast. Generationally, survey respondents were 10 percent Baby Boomers, 26 percent Gen X, 52 percent Millennials and 12 percent Gen Z.