Living Offices | S05 Webinar_1| What will change when we return to the office
Porto, Portugal [Go to PT Version]
More than ever we are challenged to re-imagine office spaces. After a few months living during the time of the pandemic and having to work remotely, we are preparing to gradually return to the office. A moment very much desired but also with mixed feelings of expectation and anxiety. Simultaneously we are learning how to live with this virus, and inevitably adaptating to the changes it brings back to our lives. We are experiencing a collective rare moment and reflecting on the same topic: how can we think and create the office of the future.
We may not know exactly where we are going yet, but we put forward some questions to help us think about where this path might lead:
What are we doing to ensure the return to the office?
What do we miss about the office?
What will we love when we return?
We invited five companies in Portugal to join the conversation at the webinar about what will change when we return to the office. A moment to share various experiences and perspectives on how we are rethinking the office during these pandemic times.
For this conversation Living Offices brought together 5 guests from companies in Portugal:
- João Nogueira da Silva — Marketing Director of Nespresso Professional — as co-host
- Adelino Silva — CEO at LOBA
- Nádia Cruz — Comunication and Marketing Manager at Natixis
- Aurélie Rodrigues — Office and Engagement Manager at Koerber Digital
- Pedro Teixeira — Human Engineer at Mindera Software Craft
These perspectives bring a new insight about the transformation of the office for LOBA, Natixis and Mindera, and the challenge of creating a new office from scratch (and first one in Portugal) for Koerber Digital. The ideas were shared and intertwined with generosity and the good mood of those who bring the will to change and improve.
People make the difference in the life of the office
The idea that the focus of this whole process of re-imagining the office is about people, was an idea that prevailed throughout this one hour of good conversation.
At the time of pre-pandemic, we thought about the office as a space that makes a difference in people’s lives, we thought about the comfort and safety of the physical space that welcomes and enhances relationships between everyone. Now in the post-pandemic scenario, and working fully remote, necessarily the focus ceased to be on the physical space and turned to people, to their needs, the ties and interactions established while at work.
The near future will involve a partial return to the office, following all the health and safety protocols, and changing the focus on how we think about the office. It was naturally assumed by everyone since the beginning of the conversation in this webinar, that the focus is now on discovering what are the needs of people, which may change over time, and how important it is to provide gradual changes to the office space.
Simplicity and comfort
The simple moments of every-day life at the office contribute to feelings of comfort and well-being. The simplicity of some benefits can have very positive consequences in the life of collaborators.
Our habits are very much created and related to each countries’ culture as well as the company culture.
One of the habits well rooted in Portuguese culture are the moments of pause for a coffee and lunch. Keeping the spaces so that these moments continue to happen are also seen as benefits for those who return to the office, benefits that we will continue to love having.
Usually these moments happen in the pantry or eating area. To adapt the pantry, some companies are placing divisions in acrylic on the dining tables, in order to allow people the keep sharing of these moments. Having signs with messages help reinforce the desired behaviors in this space and remind about the relevance of taking care of the space and of each other. The feedback about these add-ons to the pantry space is very positive, mainly because it allows to maintain proximity in moments of get-together, ensuring everyones’ safety.
The outdoor spaces such as terraces or gardens, have become the most desired places for those moments when we need to relax, and where companies plan to invest, therefore providing the moments of get-together in the open air. The terraces of LOBA, Mindera and Natixis show the potential of these spaces and at this new period we are living in.
The meeting and social spaces, now adapted to the protocols of physical distancing and higene, can continue to offer simplicity in comfort and well-being. Above all, they can continue to exist.
Collaborative spaces
At the office, what can you offer that people don’t have at home?
During the webinar we launched a poll for those watching, asking about the main reason why people want to return to the office. The most expressive answer was, to socialize.
There are many moments when being together is essential. During the period of confinement and working from home, and in the process of preparing the partial return to the office, some companies put together pilots team to can understand which spaces are now most valued by people. Therefore, spaces for collaborative work gained a new importance.
In consequence, some companies are either expanding existing spaces or planning to create new spaces where people can join for moments of collaboration, ensuring the comfort and safety of these moments where everyone can benefit by being together. For companies with the challenge of creating a new office space from scratch, collaborative and flexible spaces are a certainty about what to provide to new collaborators.
Flexibility of spaces
Flexibility becomes an ally in the process of adapting the office to people’s needs. It takes on transforming or proposing add-ons to existing office spaces.
Flexibility is now a starting point for creating or transforming an office. Thinking about the organization of the space as Lego, which anticipates and facilitates changing the configuration of the space that, because as we know, it will still keep on changing for some time.
Flexibility of spaces already happens in many companies, where an eating area also becomes a space for events and meetups, as Living Offices has seen happen in several offices.
What we will love at the office
When it will be possible for us to return to the office, we will love the simple things: to be able to keep the ritual of arriving and having a coffee, to have a space prepared where we can work and take breaks that give us some contact and moments of get-together with colleagues. After all, we want to return to the office mainly to socialize.
We will love to continue collaborating in spaces that have been carefully thought out to facilitate those moments, whether in the transformed offices or those being created for the first time and that will receive collaborators for the first time.
Because we are human, we have the need to be together.
Because we are human, we have the capacity to adapt.
