Insights from the forefront of future of work thought leadership

The pandemic has accelerated a range of pre-existing workspace trends around health and wellbeing, flexibility, activity-based working and the demand drive for better space utilisation. With this change in working habits, the requirements of COVID-19 workplace design have come into focus.

Things like high quality virtual connective hardware which were once on the “wish list” are now office must-haves. Some of these investments are now also within reach, thanks to boosted tenant incentives.

In this article, we’ll explore the new requirements of the office as well as the incentives on offer to fund these essential upgrades.

The new office must-haves

Right now conflicting forces are pulling at the future of office footprints. One is the need for more space to accommodate physical distancing protocols. The other is the need to reduce space with more people working remotely. In a post-vaccine world, physical distancing requirements will cease to exist, but the changes to the way people work are here to stay.

While technology has proven valuable to support and maintain collaboration and interaction in the required work from home period, long term it will complement but not replace the need for a physical workplace.

Long term, workspaces will have a rationalised physical footprint, and be comprised of flexible well-equipped spaces designed to support specific employee needs. The new office will have technology built in (eg. occupancy sensors or smart lighting solutions), a strong focus on health and wellbeing, plus a workplace design that is sympathetic to the productivity needs of employees while they’re in the workspace.

Entice employees to the workspace

Enhanced productivity, no commute and the opportunity to work in leisurewear – working from home has a lot of perks the office now needs to compete with. The new workplace needs to become a destination with a purpose which entices employees to return.

The office will need to offer more to employees than just a workstation to sit at for 8 hours a day. Rather, smart businesses will create places that attract and retain their employees with careful workspace design.

Employee health and safety

The new office puts employee health and safety front and centre. Workspaces will take advantage of technology and equipment such as hands-free or easy to clean materials (non-porous surfaces) and fixtures (automatic doors and taps) to rebuild employees’ trust and confidence.

Seamless connection between physical and virtual

Remote working isn’t going anywhere, which means the new office needs to be reconfigured to accommodate technology upgrades. Meeting rooms need to be equipped for seamless video conferencing, whether that’s with better quality screens and audio or faster data connections, to ensure flawless links between those out of and those in the office.

Collaboration and connection spaces

A key purpose of the new office is connection and collaboration between employees. With focussed and deep work done from home, employees will increasingly visit the office when human interaction is required, and the workspace needs to encourage and support this type of work. In a pre-vaccine world, these spaces will need to consider movable furniture for safe distancing and acoustic treatments which aid conversation across distance.

Use tenant incentives to create your new future-proof office

According to the Property Council of Australia, Australian office vacancy increased over the first six months of 2020 for the first time in four and a half years to 9.5%. This has created a pro-tenant market, and as landlords work to keep building values steady in a turbulent time, they are offering incentives to tenants like:

• Rent-free periods
• Rent abatement
• Fitout contributions
• Changes to rent review and make good terms

While tenant incentives aren’t new, they are currently on the increase. CBRE notes that in Sydney, “incentives are on the rise to encourage leasing activity in the market, nudging up around the 30% mark.” In previous years, this sat at 18-20%. It is a good time to take advantage of the increased incentives to fund your future-proof workspace upgrades.

Wondering what other future of work trends are affecting workspace design? Check out the Future Of Work: A Progressive Leader’s Guide.

While many employees have worked from home since March, companies are now planning or are amid their return-to-office strategies. Although we may be returning to the office, the pandemic has changed the way we work forever. The current affairs have also provided an opportunity to redesign and reimagine your office space with an Activity-Based Working strategy while still prioritising employee health and safety.

The journey towards activity-based working

Activity-Based Working (ABW) has been around since the 1980s but grew in popularity during the 1990s as more companies implemented activity-based working throughout their offices. And although at first glance it may appear that the pandemic may have halted the trajectory of ABW, it really couldn’t be further from the truth.

ABW is a style of workplace design that enables employees to choose the best environment to suit their individual working style. So rather than sitting day-in, day-out at an office desk, the employee can change it up depending on what task they’re doing – whether that’s collaborating with others in a brainstorming space or working from home for deep work.

ABW is commonly confused with hot-desking, which removes allocated seating to inspire mobility and maximise office space. But it’s more than that. ABW is about supporting employees while they’re in (and out of) the office, so they perform at their best every day.

How the pandemic has changed the requirements of the office

COVID-19 has been a catalyst for many organisations to rethink how ‘work’ gets done. And it has started many on a path to trusting and empowering their employees to work where and even when they work best.

Given one of the critical tenets of Activity-Based Working is the empowerment of the employee, it’s clear ABW is an excellent match for the future workspace. Naturally, challenges to working in a shared space in the pandemic-era have arisen. Let’s explore their solutions.

Physical distancing

Keeping 1.5 metres apart in a shared workspace is a challenge all companies face as they have employees return to the office. An ABW design has the flexibility to accommodate distancing requirements physically in the office as well as by empowering employees to work remotely when needed. Consider capacity based on physical distancing guidelines and plan ahead for those coming into the office – A/B shifts or flexible working hours can help.

High contact areas

In any office, whether ABW or not, there are high contact areas like light switches and elevator buttons which need to be considered. In the first instance, a frequent and thorough cleaning schedule for these areas will need to be implemented. In the longer term, consider touchless technology or automation to avoid contact altogether. Shared spaces like kitchens, bathrooms and thoroughfares also need to be considered. Wayfinding and physical distancing signage can be helpful to keep employees moving in the right direction and maintaining a proper distance from one another.

Provide employees with their own equipment like keyboards or headsets, so they are not shared between coworkers. Also, ensure cleaning and disinfecting supplies are readily available for employees to use as required between scheduled cleaning. Additionally, make sure there is enough time between workspace handover to allow for cleaning and disinfecting to take place.

Technology solutions

Besides the physical workplace, employees also need an efficient digital working environment, affording instant access to all important information, anywhere and at any time. As well as the technology tools to efficiently collaborate with colleagues, wherever they may be. Technology solutions we are keeping a close eye on are:

• Space utilisation software: Used to optimise how people interact with their flexible work environment.
• Environmental health and comfort: Sensors used to monitor things like temperature, humidity and air quality for a comfortable and safe working environment.
• Personal wayfinding: Occupancy sensors used to gather data and create interactive floor plans on kiosks or mobile apps.

Thanks to its nature of flexibility, with the right planning, ABW means your employees will return to a responsive, adaptive, modern office which they are confident will keep them safe and well.

Wondering how else COVID-19 has changed the future of work? This is one of the topics we explore in A progressive leader’s guide to the Future of Work in Australia.

The future of work has been forever changed. As we begin to return to work post COVID, organisations are starting to reflect on the sudden and involuntary uptake of flexible working models from early 2020. Such models have, perhaps permanently, shifted expectations for employers and employees – thanks to the experience of unforeseen benefits for both. 

The benefits of co-located, or office-based working still remain, however – connection, collaboration and culture are still key to organisational success and cannot be completely replaced with remote model variants. As organisations have now realised, a hybrid model of work is the most likely outcome of the pandemic – an extension of activity-based working, where some work is suited to the office, and other work is suited to the home. 

This makes quality workplace design crucial as a way to placemake workplace environments, and ensure that they optimise employee wellbeing. 

How workspace design can aid in employee health and wellbeing as we return to work

Flexible workplace design isn’t a single standalone tactic – it is made up of a whole spectrum of tools that can be deployed to improve productivity and the wellbeing of staff. It can be leveraged across so many workplace aspects – from the physical design of the office to the spaces employees use to complete the work and all the way through to the flexible work hours the organisation offers. 

Designing a workplace to support flexible working has been shown to improve employee wellbeing, in fact, employees tend to be happier in flexible working environments. Some of the benefits include:

• Better work-life balance
• Improved physical and mental health
• Measurable increases in productivity. 

Honing in on the purpose of your office space 

The office of old was all about squeezing people into small, permanent spaces – ensuring everyone is together and that firms can also keep their real estate costs down. More recently, this strategy has begun to shift, and the pandemic has accelerated workplace design towards a more flexible use of space.

In a post-pandemic world, the office is about celebrating the reasons we come together. Some of the common purposes for co-located work include collaboration, social interaction and learning and development, but each organisation will have its own unique requirements. 

The future workspace understands and caters to the specific work purposes, which in turn can augment a sense of employee wellbeing. Here are just some of the dials that can be turned to provide a safe and productive place for co-located work. 

Choreographing movement

In flexible and agile work environments the choreography of movement has always been an important factor of workplace design. In a world that includes physical distancing requirements, this ‘dance’ has become even more imperative. 

Directing movement through design with wayfinding (whether it’s signage, structured paths or colour coding) gives employees simple signals as to where they should walk, stand or sit – keeping themselves and others safe and healthy.

Leveraging smart office tech

With smart office tech, workplaces can support the flexible use of space and optimise utilisation. Whether it’s enabling data-driven facilities and building management or creating a touchless experience for employees and guests. 

Like with many things, the technology to do this already existed but COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of tech like sensors, room booking systems and occupancy planning tools.

Considering digital and social inclusion

In a traditional working environment staff were able to demonstrate care and connection through in-person interactions: saying hello on entering the office, having coffee with a colleague, celebrating a work anniversary in the shared kitchen. In a flexible work environment where some employees are co-located and some are working elsewhere, inclusion becomes more of a challenge.

Businesses, leaders and teams have an opportunity to introduce new, valuable practices and spaces to ensure the inclusion of those not in the office, such as virtual social events (trivia night anyone?) and well-designed meeting spaces which cater seamlessly to those connecting virtually.

Deploying biophilic design

In a report, psychologist Sir Cary Cooper explains the relationship between workplace design and biophilia as “an innovative way to harness this affinity in order to create natural environments for us to live, work and learn [in]. By consciously including nature in interior or architectural design, we are unconsciously reconnecting; bringing the great outdoors into our constructed world.”

To sum it up, workplaces that incorporate natural plant life are inclined to be happier, more productive spaces.

Managing acoustics

Open-plan offices have often been discredited as noisy and unproductive spaces, yet good design will allow the flexibility of open plan to exist without acoustic downfalls. Careful acoustic design can overcome acoustic shortfalls by using materials which absorb excess noise to enhance communication between teams, reduce disturbance from undesired noise, improve privacy and allow employees to focus on tasks that require concentration. 

Letting in the natural light

A survey published in the Harvard Business Review shows that access to natural light is the number one thing employees want in their office environment. And for good reason.

Research by Cornell University strengthens the relationship between natural light and employee wellbeing. A study found the optimisation of natural light in an office significantly improves health and wellness among workers. 

A design based on flexible working principles will allow workers to have access to natural light as they choose the space best suited to work in for themselves.

Despite new models of work becoming prevalent, the benefits of a central workplace – connection, collaboration and culture – still remain, and are key to organisational success. Workplace design plays an even more important role today, in placemaking creation for organisations that want to thrive with a hybrid model of work – but also in nurturing an employee’s wellbeing while they are onsite. 

The future of workplace design is changing and evolving as we speak. With so much information on the future of work, we wanted to help by collecting the most crucial future of work knowledge in one place for you to access easily. Check out all you need to know about the future of work here.

As many businesses shift to a work from home strategy during the developing COVID 19 crisis, more Australians are working remotely than ever before. Rather than a passing trend, it appears the rise in remote working in Australia will permanently change our working culture. 

With benefits like supporting employee health, increased productivity, better work-life balance and the opportunity to cut costs by rationalising office space, it’s no wonder remote working is seen as the future of the workplace.  

But what do we know about the challenges of remote working in Australia and how to overcome them long term? And how will long-term remote work impact company culture? 

This post explores how an organisation might rationalise real estate costs, while still strengthening and maintaining its culture. 

Remote working benefits

Remote work had been on the rise for years before COVID 19 required people to shelter in place. Undeniably, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work across the world. And with this acceleration, companies have noticed some fantastic benefits for both employees and employers, not least of which is saving money on commercial real estate.  While there are some more benefits of this strategy, there are also some watch-outs too. 

Productivity and performance

Pre-COVID 19, a study found that 49% of professionals noted that they chose to work at home to complete deep, high-concentration work. So it’s not surprising that remote workers tend to be more productive. With more time and fewer distractions having a positive impact on productivity, remote work enables employees to focus on performance, results and higher quality work. Interestingly, this increased productivity and performance translate into greater employee engagement, which is significantly lowering absenteeism. 

However, not all types of work are easy to perform in isolation – in the Owl Labs Global State of Remote Work report, respondents said brainstorms are the most challenging meetings to follow and participate in when working remotely. Perhaps more surprisingly, a different study found that dull repetitive tasks are also more difficult for remote workers.

Rationalise commercial rent and other associated costs 

Remote working cuts costs for both employees and employers. According to Global Workplace Analytics, a part-time remote worker saves their company an average of $11,000 per year on rent and other associated office costs.  So adopting a work-from-home stance for the longer term can clearly help to rationalise space and lower rent costs for an organisation. 

However, a  physical workplace is more than an overhead cost of running a business. Culture, collaboration and connection between individuals and teams are essential to overall unity and directed output in an organisation. So the reduction of rent cannot be considered in isolation – any space reduction must be considered in terms of the longer-term impact on culture also. 

Healthier and happier employees

Aside from the obvious benefit of reducing the risk of spreading COVID 19, working remotely – even part-time, has been shown to increase happiness and lower stress for employees. Factors leading to improved employee wellness include:

• More time for exercise
• Healthy eating
• Less exposure to illness
• More time for interests and hobbies
• Improved personal relationships

However, without the ability to leave ‘the office’ many employees are now working longer hours. A recent Bluejeans survey found employees are working an additional 3.13 hours per day from home. It’s therefore unsurprising that working at home can lead to the blurring of work and non-work boundaries which can lead to increased stress levels. 

Additionally, while remote work is well-received currently, due to COVID-19, Australians have only been working remotely for around five months (true at the time of writing). As the pandemic progresses and eventually passes, it is possible that extended remote work practices may become inhibiting and that a stronger delineation between work and home is desired. 

Attracting and retaining talent

In a Zapier remote work report, about 75% of workers said they would be willing to quit a job that didn’t allow remote working for one that did. Unsurprising then that top HR executives recognise that offering remote working and flexibility will help a company to attract top talent and source the best candidates, regardless of location. 

Having said that,  some office-based collaboration and connection is still largely desired, and intelligent workplace strategy and design – even in a smaller corporate space, will assist in meeting those collaborative goals. 

Why you might consider rationalising – not leaving – your commercial office space 

Many organisations are now rationalising their commercial spaces, looking for some kind of hybrid solution that ensures culture and connection can be maintained, while remote work can support wellbeing, productivity and balance.  

Collaboration and communication

Water cooler conversations, lunch with a colleague, team chats over coffee, all of these co-located office scenarios allow passive information gathering, which is lacking for remote workers. While a Slack chat is helpful, it doesn’t have the same impact as an in-person interaction. In fact, a study found that a face-to-face request is 34 times more successful than an email. 

The bottom line is that there are fewer opportunities to communicate effectively when working remotely full time.

Smart workplace design with clever sensing technologies can instead help organisations to optimise their commercial space, in order to utilise space in a planned, efficient manner, maintaining social distance while reaping the benefits of commercial collaboration when in the office too. 

Building company culture

Humans are social creatures who have a biological requirement for connection with others. Being physically near colleagues provides us access to a broad range of subconscious information and non-verbal communication cues. Remote working full time and only connecting virtually cheats us of these opportunities – the impact of which will be realised over time.  

Take the opportunity to come together in person when it is safe to do so. Physical distancing solutions can be achieved with clever design and smart technology that manages room and desk availability in a user-friendly manner.  There are clever ways you can make employees feel (and be) safe in the office environment. Not only does this kind of investment rationalise rent now and help keep employees safe, but it ensures the efficient use of all office space into the future, further saving on commercial rent and making the best of the space you have. 

Employee wellbeing

While remote working is often seen as a bastion of employee wellbeing, it can lead to feelings of isolation and stress for some. It’s easy for boundaries to become blurred when employees aren’t leaving ‘the office’ at the end of the day. Without this clear distinction, unhealthy habits can form, like working back late and less in-person connection (whether that is with coworkers or family at home). 

A hybrid remote work and in-office solution can help to maintain such balance. In the office employees’ work and personal time boundaries are so much more defined. Similarly, supporting remote workers to find their ‘third place’ whether that be a 5 pm walk or a group call prior to logging off for the day can assist. Recent experiences also show that an ergonomic home office that is separated from casual living space also helps to delineate work and home life.  

Interruptions and distractions

While remote workers don’t need to worry about common office interruptions, they do have a whole host of new distractions at home. Whether it’s unannounced visitors, children arriving home from school, a spouse who types too loudly, or a delivery driver at the door, it can be challenging to maintain focus in non-commercial environments. 

Whether in the commercial office or not, there isn’t a way to avoid all interruptions, but there are some strategies that can assist. 

• Set office hours – you’re not to be disturbed between the hours of X and Y
• Noise-cancelling headphones (and tell others what it means when you’re wearing them)
• A home office with a door and a  ‘do not disturb’ sign when you need to keep your head down
• An option to attend a safe, well-designed commercial office where you can work quietly and comfortably with less distractions should home become challenging 

While remote work is likely to be a component of workplace strategy for some time, many Australian organisations are considering the longer term implications of this on culture and collaboration. Many conversations in the market are currently pitted around rationalising real estate costs by reducing and optimising commercial space. This then enables individuals and teams to work remotely some of the time, and use the office at other times – which is an extension of the activity-based trend we’ve been seeing for the last few years. 

To manage this successfully and for the long-term, you may wish to consider aspects of design that assist with social distancing, that help to optimise and utilise underused space, and assist employees to find and use workspaces with efficiency and ease.

If you are looking to optimise your workplace for staff productivity and wellbeing, our proven workplace strategy and design process thoroughly considers your current realities, business objectives and future plans – including remote working. Find out more about our process here. 

**Collaboration**,

/kəˌlabəˈreɪʃn/

noun

the action of working with someone to produce something.

How do we innovate for collaboration in the workplace? If we had written an article on 'collaboration and the evolving workplace' just six months ago, it probably would have started like this:

The rise of new and emerging workplace technologies over the last few years has not only changed the way we work but also the way the workplace looks and operates. Zoom meetings, Slack channels, Microsoft Teams, and the never-ending array of other remote working platforms and tools have allowed us to work together, without physically being together. It’s a trend that is growing…

But now, in an era of flexible working and advanced workplace technology, the conversation is no longer just about faster internet speeds or the launch of 5G enabling high-quality video connections. With a growing emphasis on flexible working arrangements and the integration of cutting-edge workplace technologies, the dialogue has shifted to HOW we can work most effectively and collaborate successfully in this new age. Technology is no longer merely the driver of the future of work; it’s the enabler.

Although collaboration-enabling technology isn’t new, there is a lingering association between physical proximity and collaboration. And while this association is partially valid, collaboration is a lot more than being in the same room—opportunely, our new ‘normal’ is shaping up to include a lot less of this.

Given effective collaboration is a booster of employee satisfaction and happiness, we’re looking forward to a future where collaboration is a seamless experience for everyone involved. Let’s explore the challenges we’re facing and what the future has in store for collaboration in the workplace.

**Out with the old (style of collaboration), in with the new**

A fundamental shift we’ve noticed is the adoption of, rather than the investment in, the tools needed for remote or virtual collaboration. This is because most organisations already had the means; they just weren’t using them. Companies are recognising the benefits of flexible working, and with benefits come challenges, which we’ll explore a little later in this article.

First, what could collaboration look like in the future workspace?

**Collaboration in the future workplace**

With close-proximity discussions by the water cooler, large-scale meetings, and chatter-filled shared spaces abandoned for the foreseeable future, collaboration has become even more critical—because the requirement for intelligent and effective co-created work has not gone away.

The future of work is here now, and thanks to technology and economic shifts, the workplace is undeniably evolving. So, what does collaboration look like in the future workspace?

Remote work may be the new normal, but it’s not always the choicest way for teams to engage. Yet to succeed in today’s dynamic, connected world, teams need to master the art of successful collaboration—whether working remotely or not.

We foresee the future workspace as a hybrid of in-office and remote work. With collaboration straddling safe physical proximity and virtual connections, don’t be surprised to see a virtual-first prioritisation of communication channels and methods.

The flow between the experience of physical and virtual spaces will be central to success. The workplace will converge the physical and virtual worlds, centred on supporting workers to communicate clearly and effectively—wherever they are located.

Many companies are already investing in meeting room acoustics to ensure those not physically at the office can participate and experience a meeting just like an in-person attendee. Others are holding 100% virtual meetings with in-person staff scattered around the office on video and headsets to level the playing field between remote and non-remote staff. The goal is to ensure that those who are not physically present don’t have a different or subpar experience of a meeting so they can contribute fully to the collaborative effort of the team and stay engaged.

And to preserve precious time for collaboration (rather than tech wrangling), plug-and-play technologies that require minimal setup will be expected. Ease of use is essential. And on a more futuristic note, 3D telepresence (or hologram) technology, once thought of as far-flung sci-fi stuff, is on the horizon. We’ll be watching closely.

**The challenges of collaboration in the future workplace**

Companies are recognising the benefits of flexible working, and with benefits come challenges:

**Dispersed teams**

While dispersed teams aren’t new, they are the new normal. Regardless of the structure, having a team spread across multiple locations presents a considerable challenge. Aside from managerial problems, creating an organisational culture is immeasurably harder without a central location.

**Conflicts in working style**

Understanding and respecting each individual’s working style is critical for successful collaboration. Even when working in the same physical space, conflicts in working style have always existed. Add a little distance and less face-to-face interaction, and you have a recipe for small conflicts to become seriously damaging to relationships and productivity.

**Trust**

While also an important overriding business principle, trust is expressly significant to successful collaboration. Trust builds the foundation for productive, constructive conversations. On the other hand, distrust due to transparency issues and misunderstandings will damage collaboration within and between teams. But building trust across time and space can be slower coming or even inhibited by poor communication channels.

**(Mis)communication**

The impact of the coronavirus on our society has been far-reaching, some changes were temporary and others had a lasting effect. One area that has been significantly affected is the workplace environment and our expectations for the future of offices.

In previous discussions about the future of work in Australia, we have emphasised the challenges posed by skills shortages, the competition for talent, and the need to manage a diverse workforce spanning multiple generations.

These challenges have thrown up a need for organisations to: 

• Increase employee benefits and flexible working options to attract talent
• Compete more readily for talent on a global scale, and
• Reduce focus on degrees, skills and experience in favour of talent and purpose.

In terms of workplace design, we’ve seen businesses adjusting to employee expectations by creating diverse and flexible workspaces, such as quiet zones for deep work, or meeting areas for collaborative teamwork. For employers, this involved an intentional shift to consider the needs of their employees with workspaces that accommodate different types of work and working styles.

3 years after the global pandemic, how has the future of work changed and what can we expect the office of the future to look like?

It’s worth noting that disease and the fear of infection has influenced architecture and the form of our built environments many times in the past. Cholera prompted the introduction of sewerage systems, the bubonic plague in China led to rat-proofing buildings, and tuberculosis is at least partially responsible for the white, clean modernist aesthetic. 

There is little doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has also changing the way we use our workspaces.  

Contactless design

Base building architects and workplace designers are prioritising hands-free and contactless pathways through offices, using technology such as voice activation, sensors, facial recognition and smartphones. Ideally, we will be entering our buildings through sensor doors, calling the lift on our smartphones and using facial recognition to enter your office suite, making it to your desk without the need to needlessly touch surfaces. Embracing these technologies will further future-proof workspaces and increase visitor and employee engagement within the spaces.

Flexibility as we’ve never known it 

Not-withstanding the negative impact COVID-19 had on the world around us, most of us were empowered with trust from our employers overnight – and most responded in an exceptional manner.  Working flexibly and remotely was suddenly normalised and the stigma attached to it has disappeared.  

This period has been enlightening, giving us a fresh perspective on the way we work; a reset of work-life balance as we have not experienced in the recent past. We need to remember that with enlightenment comes responsibilities for us as employees, to work proactively to make the new environment work. As such, we’ve identified some success factors for individuals and teams working in the new normal: 

     1. The ability to work with autonomy

William Shakespeare, as always, makes this point with the least verbiage:  “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.” Organisations will benefit greatly from team members that are self-directed and who manage up and drive results rather than being passengers on this journey. 

     2. Physical distance requires – and often builds – trust 

Stronger bonds have been built in teams as we prove to ourselves and to each other that we are reliable and available – despite being physically distanced. 

     3. Flexibility requires an outcome focus 

Work is not a rigid time schedule, but rather is about goals you achieve and tasks you master. Our forced work-from-home time has shown us what we always knew, but were frightened to demonstrate: that it is the output and outcome that matter, not that you were still at your desk at 7pm on a Thursday. 

     4. True connection comes from knowing the people behind the work 

We’ve come to know each other on a deeper level now – being let into each other’s sanctuaries. We’ve seen changes in the way colleagues interact. Emotional barriers have been broken down as we’ve witnessed each other on Zoom calls, managing our work and home lives alongside one another. We’re meeting each other’s pets, kids and housemates; seeing inside their bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens. 

The clear boundaries between work and home have become blurred and this is often for the better, creating more genuine relationships and greater flexibility in response to different employees’ needs. Our relationships are no longer transactional and will hopefully never return to being just that. 

Managers and business leaders have also been innovative in how they support their teams from a distance, with many showing greater concern for employee mental health and wellbeing. As remote workers make up a greater portion of their teams in the future, employers need to continue to facilitate engaging employee onboarding, collaboration and connection.

So what happens next? 

IOur workplaces will always play a crucial role in maintaining cultural placemaking and binding teams together.  This means that organisations will look at their facilities in a different light and not calculate their required office space based on a rough 10 sqm/FTE (full time employee) which has become the norm. The thought that organisations may now appreciate wider thoroughfares and distancing workstations more spaciously is simply a more exciting and human alternative to the dense population approach of 2019. 

Now with hybrid working becoming the norm, focussed work can be done at home, and allowing the workspace as a hub for social connection, incidental conversation and collaboration. The golden moments that are not scheduled and often lead to innovation, happen in the office when no one plans it. By providing an activated, engaged hub which caters for various activities, a new workspace provides a variety of accommodation for staff counts way beyond the traditional 1/10 sqm calculations, whilst decreasing the density of bodies in space at any particular moment in time.

This has lead to some organisations keeping their current leased space but increasing their alternate accommodation, or indeed, decreasing their required space all together. We anticipate that this will need to be assessed for all organisations, based on their unique needs.

COVID-19 accelerated the future of work and the future of workplace design. To help businesses plan their workplace strategy for the future, we have assembled the most crucial future of work knowledge in one place. Check out all you need to know about the future of work here