Recently, there has been a significant shift in the way people work in offices. The disadvantages of open-plan offices are becoming increasingly apparent. There is too little privacy, and poor acoustics cause more stress for employees. In addition, the rise of hybrid working has been reinforced by the coronavirus crisis. This increase is expected to continue in part.
Working from home during the pandemic showed that productivity was not compromised. On the contrary, people actually worked longer hours, which meant that attention had to be paid to overtime. This has virtually eliminated the mistrust towards home workers. To make working from home more pleasant, considerable investments have been made in home offices. Working from home therefore leaves many empty chairs in the office.
Future-oriented office
It is important to look beyond the traditional open-plan office when striving for a future-oriented office design. But what does such a modernized working environment look like? According to experts, less square footage is expected to be needed in offices. They have noticed that there is a high demand for the ability to scale up or down quickly.
We expect that future offices will require less square footage. Companies can stipulate their desire for easy upscaling and downscaling in contracts or opt for shorter contracts in view of an uncertain future. This trend has not gone unnoticed by commercial real estate agents. They are currently seeing many companies that have plans to downsize their offices or temporarily halt expansions.
On the other hand, a complete relocation is often not necessary to achieve greater flexibility; instead, the office needs to be better designed! The changing needs of employees must be taken into account. This will require an adjustment in the ratio of private and shared workspaces. The office will thus fulfill more of a role as a meeting place, while the home office will become a place for concentrated work.
In recent years, many companies have focused on creating an open working environment. However, quiet spaces to work are essential to prevent employees from becoming overly distracted by a noisy working environment. We are therefore seeing a growing demand for quiet areas and separate rooms for video calls and meetings. Working from home and the associated combination of digital and physical collaboration with colleagues and customers will therefore have a lasting impact on office design.
Getting started with Activity-Based Working
These renewed wishes are in line with the concept of Activity-Based Working. In Activity-Based Working, spaces are linked to the activity and not to a specific individual. Examples include spaces specifically intended for brainstorming, video calls, relaxation, and meeting rooms. This allows employees to choose a workplace that suits their task. The underlying goal is not to save space, but to motivate staff to move around the organization and increase their productivity.
It is important that the spaces encourage these activities by ensuring that the interior and layout are as functional as possible. For example, a concentration room needs sufficient sound insulation and noise reduction. You can create quiet spaces by installing acoustic partitions or panels in less frequently used areas. acoustic partitions or panels. This way, you don't have to undergo a complete renovation.
The implementation of Activity Based Working varies from company to company.
Needs and preferences can vary from company to company. Consider the corporate culture, the people who work there, and the usual daily activities. To arrive at a suitable office design, you will need to ask yourself: why do my employees really come to the office? It often turns out that employees come to the office for social interaction, to show themselves to the organization, and to be more connected to their work environment. But this answer may of course differ for your office. By seeking the answer to this question, you can tailor the office design to your specific working environment.
Approaching office design based on the principle of Activity Based Working is not feasible for every company. Employees are expected to constantly choose where they want to go and where they want to work. It is also undesirable for people to have to constantly move around during the average working day. In addition, it is also more difficult for the employer to determine how many workstations are actually used in practice. Whether the open-plan office will completely make way for flexible workstations is therefore questionable.
The coronavirus crisis has clearly demonstrated the need for connection and social interaction in the workplace. There is also a continuing desire to be able to communicate quickly with team members. In short, teams will want to continue working in spaces where they can consult with each other. This means that a number of principles of the traditional open-plan office will always remain. But the massive open-plan office has had its day, and in the future, such large open spaces will be more likely to form part of an overarching design with diverse, targeted workspaces. Something for everyone!
A future-oriented office with Wout Monseurs
Are you also looking for a future-oriented office for the optimal work experience? Wout Monseurs will design your dream office. We take care of the project designand supply the office furniture, printers, AV equipment & office supplies and perform maintenance. What's more, you don't have to worry about project management. Wout Monseurs takes care of that. This ensures you have a productive working environment. Please contact us. We are happy to help!