Shattering the Tradition of the Real Estate Workplace in the 21st Century
A Mold Undone
Workplaces from every corner of the globe are undergoing a phenonomenal upheaval. Business planners, interior designers, even corporate mangers are embracing market demands for a new workplace that resembles nothing of the past. Traditional corporate workplaces are a product of the 20th century, and the real estate workplace is not immune to the tidal wave of change sweeping over the broader industry.
When it comes to office space, the key thought to keep on the forefront of the discussion is decentralization. We are no strangers to the emergence of the internet, and with it all things connectivity. Our personal lives are now connected 24/7/365. Home bases are now subsitituted by multiplicity; the idea that workplace effectiveness is no longer a metric directly correlated to the relationship someone has with their desk. Work is now accomplished from the spot your body happens to occupy at that moment in time — planes, trains, and automobiles are now productive zones barnone.
Why Scrapping the Monolith Boosts Productivity
Following trends is key to attracting top talent. The 21st century is one of the most hyper-compompetitive working environments in modern history. College graduates are emerging with a broad set of skills that allow them to easily transcend various corporate elements; translation: job flexibility. While a young professional twenty years ago with a business degree could be stuck in a specific middle management track for his whole career, today that same person can easily slip between hi-tech, real estate, or another field.
Firms are responding with a rapid evolution in how their employees are working. Integrating health, leisure, openness, and hi-tech, modern environments are now not luxuries, they’re essentials to talent retention. Top talent at every wrung have massive information exposure. Before taking a job, Glassdoor can tell you what your salary will most likely be; you can easily find out find out if the executive team is a band of raging narcissists before stepping into the wolf’s lair. Through LinkedIn you can discern where CEO X spent the first 15 years of his career and crush the interview. Information is so prevelant now that changing the product, and not the outcome, is the most effective way to run the workplace. There are no secrets in the 21st century, and the industry is responding in kind.
Integrating health, leisure, openness, and hi-tech, modern environments are now not luxuries, they’re essentials to talent retention
Now, the workplace is a dynamic environment that feels much more like a hybrid fraternity/summer camp than ever before. Employers like CBRE, the world’s largest full service commercial real estate firm, are completely revolutionizing their workplace model. Their Workplace 360 concept has embraced collaborative modality which reflects their high energy clients. Spaces are now linear conceptualizations that are meant to embody a dynamic. Shared environments now stimulate the fusion of departmental overlay; collaboration has been shot to the forefront of the conversation through these open concepts just as the walled cubicle symbolized its imprisonment.
The influx of information has shattered the glass walls of employment and opened up the playing field for a more agile, effective workplace
Prospecting the Future of the Workplace
The opening of the workplace is here to stay. It is not a trend; it will not fade away or be replaced by the next “it thing” in business management concepts. Workplace openness is a direct reflection of the changing world around it, the embodiment of the rise of the internet and the interconnected nature of every facet of modern life. We connect digitally for personal ideas, it is a natural reflection that we connect professionally in the workplace. This path will only lead to a more connected, energetic, and productive place to spend your working days — a beautiful emergence of 21st century thought.
