Having outgrown its space, cyber security provider Optiv engaged IA to create a vision for its new three-story, state-of-the art Denver headquarters. As a company that sees itself as a growing family, the new workplace had to be warm, welcoming, inspiring, and most importantly, comfortable to encourage a sense of community and enthusiasm for coming to the office each day.

For the IA team, applying the Scandinavian concept of hygge (pronounced hooga) was a natural for this opportunity. As a foil against harsh Nordic winters and other stressors, hygge refers to an in-the-moment feeling of warmth, comfort, kinship, safety, and relaxed social interaction. Providing for personal wellbeing, and a sense of closeness would encourage staff to more fully engage in the workplace. And, yes, linguistically, the word hygge is related to the word hug.

Employee-only restricted areas offer conference rooms for community use and open seating for collaboration. Positioning offices at the interior ensures the flow of natural light and sight lines to a 360-degree view at full-height windows that face workstations. Slide-out privacy walls have integrated storage at workstations, and height-adjustable work surfaces let staff assume different postures throughout the workday.

Sliding glass doors and demountable glass partitions cancel noise from the open-office environment but offer full transparency. At the building core, undulating corridors create areas for branding opportunities at pockets of space, perfect for impromptu conversations. In addition to many workspace amenities, there is also an on-site fitness center.

At the new headquarters, with staff free to work where they choose, similar to how they might work from home, even mobile workers are drawn back to the office. Ease, connection, safety, and engagement, along with pride of place and a warm welcome is a winning approach to retain and attract top talent, boost productivity, and ensure a cohesive community and employee satisfaction.