The evolution of office space and what’s trending today
MIKE CHRIST
From Dreary to Cheery It is not a secret at this point that the office spaces of today are much different from what they used to be. Since the dawn of the 20th century, offices have evolved from crowded spaces to shared workstations, from cubicle farms to remote and networked locations. When I first began my career in business in the mid-’80s, managers separated themselves from the rest of us in fourwalled offices with doors they could close and maybe a window if they were lucky. The c-suite occupied sprawling corner offices with plush furniture, fantastic views, and more space than they could possibly need. Everyone else crammed themselves into high-walled cubicles stacked side by side. That was an area of rigid uniformity, a time when employers thought that top-down hierarchies, separation of roles, and all-around privacy compelled people to ultimate productivity with a just-put-your-head-down-and-work philosophy. The workplace was the place where work happened, and nothing else. If you wanted exercise, food, socialization, and comfort, you went somewhere else to get it.
Those days are over. Between the talent war, changing demographics, and the growing need to align employee self-interest with company interest, the best and brightest employers in the world are making the switch to more inspiring, collaborative, and amenity-rich designs. We have reached a new age in the evolution of office space. For a while, it looked like open office was going to be the best way to leverage return on space while sparking collaboration and cultural cohesiveness, but there are a number of potential pitfalls to strictly open office design. Unfortunately, the misconception that modern offices are always strictly open designs has led to a general pushback from many decision-makers, brokers, and corporate real estate industry insiders against modern office design in general.
Open office vs. hybrid spaces The best strategy is to create flexible, varied spaces that allow every employee, no matter what their generation or their personal preferences, to find a comfortable, productive place to work. Ideally, they will have choices about where they work, as well, so that — like when they are at home — they don’t have to occupy a single space over the course of a full workday. Getting up, changing your environment, and simply moving around from time to time can have an enormous positive impact on productivity. To help facilitate these opportunities, the best designs offer open, collaborative areas in combination with huddle rooms and conference rooms where people can close the door to create a private space. If you remove an employee’s chance to enjoy privacy once in a while, it can lead to a drain on productivity and a difficulty in maintaining confidentiality. When a confidential matter arises, employees that work in strictly open environments will lose more productivity time in the act of seeking out a private space. Similarly, those employees who would prefer the opportunity to work in a private space from time to time tend to resent employers who don’t offer them that opportunity. Providing flexible options shows that the employer is concerned about how to best serve each employee’s needs. But let’s not throw out the benefits of open office either. If you take steps to mitigate the sound and chaos commonly associated with open spaces, you take advantage of the productivity sparked by open sightlines between employees and visitors to the office. For the latter, there is nothing quite like being able to look out over an open space and see people working harmoniously and creatively together.
Similarly, those open sightlines promote closer relationships between employees. And in an age when technology allows for a host of nonwork distractions that didn’t exist before, there is nothing quite so motivating as looking up from your desk and seeing your coworkers hard at work. Peer pressure will always be the most compelling carrot. The hybrid office advantage is why companies like WeWork are changing the way we think about office space. By offering seats in an open, buzzing café/lounge and also in small, closed-door offices, WeWork spaces allow people who thrive in a coffeeshop environment — with all its accompanying action and scenery — to work alongside those who prefer the quiet of enclosed offices, call rooms, and rentable conference centers. At the same time, those who prefer those closed-door offices are still free to take advantage of the many perks available in the lounges and cafés. Hybrid models like these serve as a win-win for everyone. The most important quality of any space is that it reflects the company’s culture. If that space is inviting, comfortable, and offers the flexibility between privacy and a chance to openly collaborate, then more people will be happy in whatever working environment they choose. This leads to a more positive and cohesive culture, and of course, a healthier bottom line.
This article is an excerpt from Work Them to Life: Upgrade Your Office Space to Win the Talent War authored by Jim Scalo and currently available for purchase on Amazon.