While employers are eager to return their staff to the office, data shows that flexibility is now the number one thing employees are expecting from their work. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Based on businesses' individual needs and goals, the right workspace model can promote connection among employees while simultaneously providing flexibility in business growth. In fact, the perfect office can be the catalyst for increased productivity and workflow. Nowadays, employers across various industries are asking themselves, "What is the right workspace model that will bring staff back into the office?" Meanwhile, the key is the answer to another question voiced by many professionals, namely, "What is the purpose and value of the office in the current post-pandemic setting?"
Robert Chmielewski is CEO of ShareSpace, the world's first digital office space marketplace. Recommended For You
At ShareSpace, we have repeatedly seen how choosing the right office model has propelled companies' productivity, growth, and workflow optimization. The common denominator in all cases was defining what office solution best supports the business needs and work styles within the firm as opposed to making a choice solely based on the number of employees or workstations needed. While employers are eager to return their staff to the office, data shows that flexibility is now the number one thing employees are expecting from their work. The most popular work models supporting that desire for flexibility while facilitating a return to the office include Hub-and-spoke, office as a collaboration hub and de-densified office models.
1. Hub-and-spoke
Many companies have traditionally been based in one main building located in a central city district or business center area. Such a place accommodated all day-to-day work, training, conferences, and meetings with clients and partners. With the rise of remote work and cloud technology, hub-and-spoke proves a more convenient solution. Hub-and-spoke office is composed of two principal components. A "hub"—the main, usually city center-based workspace for larger meetings, team collaboration, events, etc.—and a number of "spokes," or satellite offices in smaller cities or neighborhoods, located closer to employee living clusters.
Such "spokes" can include traditional or flexible office space or hot desks rented in a coworking building. Employees' week is divided between days worked from the "spoke" offices located in their proximity and the main company "hub". For businesses, hub-and-spoke allows for a distribution of workforce and helps to expand the pool of potential talent. What's also worth noting is that this office model facilitates shorter commute distance which is a big benefit to employees who are faced with daily travel to and from work.
2. Office as a collaboration hub
One of the biggest drawbacks of remote work is the sense of detachment and isolation that many professionals experience after an extended time of remote work. Relying on digital solutions for communications led to some experiencing video call fatigue. In other cases, it even led to the feeling of burnout. Hesitancy and resistance towards returning to the office can be avoided by providing a space that will facilitate a sense of community. The office can be a cultural and social anchor that fosters creativity, agility, and networking—a place where productivity skyrockets and people get to experience the long-missed social interactions.
For that reason, companies are opting to turn their offices into collaboration hubs. The purpose of the office is no longer about just providing a desk and a chair. Work styles vary across departments, teams and, individual preferences. Serviced offices offer a wide variety of work areas such as dedicated workstations, open work areas with "hot desks," phone booths, a design table, a conference room. Such an office solution can improve team performance, creativity, and innovation while offering an environment that supports a wide range of work styles.
3. De-densified office
The pandemic has made us more conscious of our health, safety, and well-being as a society. For that reason, another functional solution to encourage a return to the office is choosing the employee rotation approach within a de-densified office. For example, this can look like a company of 50 establishing 25 workstations in a serviced office space and rotating the departments working from the office every one or two weeks. In the case of team growth, the capacity can be increased according to company needs.
Physical distancing primarily assumes reducing the number of people in a room and implementing physical barriers such as movable walls and screens, while the remainder of the space can be used for open floor workstations. Adopting safety policies such as reducing occupancy in all spaces—meeting rooms, common areas, and breakout areas ensures a comfortable workspace while creating a safer environment.
The covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly influenced the world of work. It proved to be a catalyst for change that, so far, had been much talked about but showed few implemented cases. The way to see employees willing and ready to go back into the office again is not by imposing obligations and offering rigid and nonfunctional workspaces. Thus far, the office was predominantly viewed as "the" place to get work done. Meanwhile, after two years of lockdowns, rapid digitalization of industries, and vaccine rollout, it is the redefined office model that will bring employees out of their home offices and back into the company workspace.
What's more, our expectation of a more flexible workspace that supports digital solutions also highlights the shift in the way we can lease such workspaces. At ShareSpace, we are revolutionizing office leasing. With the use of proprietary technology, we created an intuitive, fully digitized, 5-step office lease process that matches businesses with traditional and flexible workplace providers.
The process of bringing employees back to work from physical offices is about presenting the value of this work solution. The office can support productive and efficient work, create an attractive work environment, facilitate much-desired social interactions, and encourage a healthy work-life balance. The space itself should not only provide necessities like furniture, printing services, or the internet but a sense of community and connection across a shared vision. Many leading corporations have already begun the agile process of rethinking and readjusting, and many more are bound to join in the near future.
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