Space-Shifts in Workplace
THE OFFICE, REINCARNATED
Since we can now work wherever, whenever — what’s the office for?
The office is no longer just a place to find a desk. It’s a culture and an environment we choose to be part of. It’s becoming much more about experience, a way to find purpose and create social bonds. The economic model of shared workspace is also much more financially viable, and allows organisations to make decisions that are rapid and fluid — a big benefit for the bottom line.
Generational studies indicate that the young workforce (individuals aged 25–35 make up the largest generation in the US workforce) values choice, flexibility and community above all else (including salary). This is a critical aspect of the future of the workplace. And, in an intertwined world of work and life, how and where we choose to earn our living now also represents who we are, and who we want to know.
In this piece, we look at the space-shifts occurring that move us away from the office as we have known it, driven primarily by the Experience and Sharing Economies.
> If you only read this:
It’s been a gradual shift, but the impact of the growing Experience Economy has inevitably made its way into the workplace. For knowledge workers, it’s becoming not just about meeting needs and a place to go, but about creating a place for people to be inspired, grow, and thrive in. Organisations are looking at their workplaces as the physical embodiment of their culture, values, and how they invest in their people, who are their biggest assets.
The meteoric rise of co-working and shared workspaces has allowed larger organisations to become more nimble, collaborative and innovative. But more importantly, it’s empowered a new type of workforce that’s independent, entrepreneurial, and really smart.
“ A lot of what we are talking about is design of a physical workspace, but a lot of it is also about the culture. In our research, we came across organisations where the workspace was actually really rubbish, but they were proud of the causes they were working for; they had a great sense of community and so they were happier than people that had much better environments but felt disconnected, disengaged or not accepted.” (Namrata Krishna, Design Strategist)
Work as an Experience
A Self-Actualized Workforce
At a 2016 conference on the future of retail, Lindsay Angelo, strategist at lululemon, spoke about how new ideologies are directly impacting the design of lululemon’s stores. The modern-day consumer is aspiring towards purpose and growth, especially because technology has widened the scope of our resources and knowledge.
In previous studies, we have defined this evolution as the Age of Self-Optimisation. According to Angelo, the future of retail lies at the top of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, in ‘Self-Actualisation’.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is just as applicable, if not more, to the workplace, where an identical shift has been taking place. Employers used to be focused on the basics — giving people the minimum they needed to do their jobs (a desk, a computer). But now, the focus is working its way up the triangle. And all the while, businesses are thinking about how they can meet their own needs and still be profitable.
As the office of the future is becoming less about the basics of physical space, and more about representing our lifestyle and values as individuals, designers are testing new solutions for furniture and space that embed more flexibility and choice into our work. Transformable meeting spaces to accommodate varying use, flexible furniture to reduce boredom, and wearable acoustic devices to aid concentration. All the while, smart technology empowers users to make the space their own. The office is becoming more intuitive, adapting to our shifting needs (more on this later).
We spend a third (!!) of our lives working — spaces for work are now expected to support us in being the best we can be, in all areas of life. And with lines between life and work blurring more than ever, where we choose to work is a crucial component of Self-Actualisation.
> Work to feel better
People are allowing work activities to creep into their free time. But they’re also performing the occasional personal task at work. This integration of life and work means employers will have an increasing responsibility to really think about wellbeing in a comprehensive way; it makes business sense and people expect it.
Wellbeing has typically been understood as ‘physical’ or ‘functional’ wellbeing — access to natural light, good air quality, ergonomic furniture. But, especially in Europe, all of those are now a given. The profusion of workplace gyms, fruit bowls, and in some cases, even nap pods, shows that employers are thinking about amenities that support wellbeing. Right now, the next level is really around psychological wellbeing. There are many factors that impact individual wellbeing and these differ by person. So, while there is no easy, one-size-fits all approach, research does show one consistent predictor of mental wellbeing: perceived control.
For designers and those concerned with the built environment, the challenge is to create workplaces that offer end-users a sense of control. This is particularly important when offices are being designed around principles of openness and sharing.
In London, the global architecture and design firm Gensler recently partnered with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the RCA, to investigate just this. Their study looked at the mental wellbeing outcomes across three groups of employees, who were given different levels of participation in the design of their workplace. What they found was that being asked to participate (whether people chose to or not) had a positive impact on mental wellbeing. Which indicates that it’s not only the end result, but the process that matters. It also shows the benefits of being given a sense of agency, where the individual feels supported and appreciated. Co-design is a model that those designing workplaces have to consider.
“Yes, I think it’s about people feeling empowered to choose and they may choose not to! For instance, in talking to our clients about allowing people to work away from the office, the truth is lots of people like coming into the office. They like having that face-to-face connection, that sense of community. Just knowing that if they wanted to work somewhere else they could makes a huge difference. We actually found that in the research we were doing choice and control were the number one contributing factors to wellbeing.” (Namrata Krishna, Design Strategist)
> The new HQ
With technology untethering people, and with brands seeing the benefits of presenting themselves less as powerful giants (with giant headquarters), and more as nimble life-partners, the role of the HQ is shifting.
The focus on experience has changed the way companies are thinking about their head offices. These buildings are now becoming the bastions of company culture, and providing a lot more than just a desk. HQ’s are no longer about efficiency and productivity — but about belonging and meaning. A physical embodiment of a company’s mission and values in ways that are much stronger than logos and brand colours. Even the term ‘Headquarters’ is being swapped for something more inspirational, like G.E’s Innovation Point, Apple’s Apple Park, and Interface’s Atlanta hub, Base Camp.
> The world within your workplace
Dubbed ‘the greenest, most intelligent building in the world’, The Edge in Amsterdam was originally built to consolidate Deloitte’s employees in one location. Today, the building inspires the design of other sustainable and smart offices. And, according to Deloitte, the experience is so appealing that professionals are actually applying for employment with Deloitte “because they want to work in the building”.
The Edge hints at a future where commercial buildings function as self-sufficient mini cities, hosting offices and retail, but also residential, hospitality and community spaces that are seamlessly connected. Interestingly, the last decade has seen a rise in a nomadic workforce of global citizens working from anywhere, which conveyed the message, ‘the world is your office, get out there!’. But this is now coming full circle, with the offices of tomorrow wanting to incorporate the whole world within one place. An example of this is the concept for Microsoft’s headquarters in Amsterdam: Micro Polis (mini city) functions both as a business hub and a public space, and is described by the press as “the office of the future”. Micro Polis is super smart and interactive — with sensors measuring the air and the activity of its users.
> Super smart buildings
To make our days easier, keep us healthier and enhance our work experience, technology is being employed by businesses everywhere. The smartest offices of tomorrow will not only be able to offer work-leisure services, on-demand and under one roof, but buildings will have operating systems that will learn, adapt and predict needs over time.
Everyone at The Edge with a smartphone can tweak their environment — the lighting, temperature and furniture layout for meetings. The building remembers your schedule, your preferred work setting — even how much sugar you take in your coffee!
“At the very least a smart-building app will let you access an office building and book meeting rooms, but it will also notify you of a decline in air quality, suggest the best parking spot and provide advice — perhaps recommending a walking meeting instead of the usual sit-down session.” (Frame Feb 2019, p.171)
Space is no longer owned, it’s shared
Whether using the term ‘agile’, ‘flexible’ or ‘dynamic’, today’s leading organisations and their workforce are focused on maximising productivity. Which isn’t done by spending 8 hours staring at a screen.
Researchers have even found that 83% of workers don’t need to be in a physical office in order to feel productive (from the Fuze study Breaking Barriers 2020).
Another research study by Forbes predicts that by 2020, 50% of office workers will be freelance, remote or project-based. So as this sharing-based workforce becomes even more mobile and transient, the big question is how the ways in which we design and think about our spaces for work will change. Where will this new generation of workers get things done, and what makes them chose to go there?
Workspace is working harder
Especially in Europe, where space is tight and prices are (almost) always on the rise, organisations have been looking at ways to consolidate their real estate. They need to make whatever they do have, work as hard as possible.
Early flexible working and desk sharing programs, which were focused mostly on efficiency, are now into their second decades, so it’s not exactly a new trend. But the drivers are different now. Technology has dramatically influenced when, where, and how people can work. The demand for flexibility has increased exponentially. So, sharing is not just about saving money, it’s about providing a better experience.
Companies are keen to bring disparate teams under one roof to support collaboration and knowledge sharing, as well as dispense with space that’s under-utilised. Data on how space is being used is being gathered in newer and faster ways to drive quicker decisions about what to keep, toss, and create.
The yo-yo-ing of organisational growth, especially in startups, also makes it difficult to keep up. People are consuming space more quickly than traditional models can handle. For many companies, the Sharing Economy is starting to feel like the only sensible one.
“Sharing is the economic and social model of the 21st century, which means that we won’t have to physically own as many goods or assets anymore. Why own when you can ‘rent’ a better experience, on-demand, as soon as you need it?” (Convene, 5 Predictions for the Future of Work, pg. 6)
Co-Working is a Game Changer
Shared workspaces have grown at an incredible rate globally over the past five years. And in cities like London, New York and Chicago, they are expanding at an annual rate of 20%. This has completely transformed the real estate industry, and how we define a place to work.
> The war for talent
An article by WeWork competitor, Convene, on the future of work, states that we’re at the cusp of a massive shift in the corporate co-working industry — from static office space to user experience. Large corporations are increasingly reliant on diverse, dispersed skill sets, and they need to do what they can to nurture this new class of talent. The pressure is on to offer next-gen. experiential workplaces, where people truly enjoy the experience of the work environment, and find their work meaningful and purpose-driven.
“In this ‘Age of Accelerations’, human capital is a company’s most precious resource. The war for talent is driving corporations to rethink their workplace strategy and create experiences that attract, retain, and develop their most gifted and valued workers.” (Convene, 5 Predictions for the Future of Work, pg. 4)
> Co-location for innovation
We know that co-working is a smart space model, but its benefits go beyond the flexibility it offers. One of the key attractions of co-working spaces are the ways in which they bring disparate groups and individuals together, who might otherwise never have met. (Also referred to as the ‘adjacent possible’.) When those people come together, they build new relationships and spark new ideas. And that leads to the golden goose that everyone is looking for: INNOVATION.
The outcomes of those serendipitous interactions are now being engineered by accelerator spaces and innovation hubs. They offer opportunities for startups (young, fast, fresh) and well-established firms (money, connections, experience) to come together to create new and exciting products and services. In London, a global financial hub, everyone from Barclays to JP Morgan has jumped on the FinTech bandwagon. Workspaces like Rise (Barclays), Level 39 (Canary Wharf Group), and In Residence (JP Morgan) provide mentorship and access to resources and events, in addition to amenity-filled office space.
In the US, Y Combinator has an impressive success rate — it’s been involved with companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Reddit.
“We are convinced that meaningful design cannot happen in isolation — it needs exchange.” (MINI’s mission statement, A/D/O)
> Co-working as brand offering
Beyond the hub, even well-established companies and brands are tapping into the benefits of using co-working spaces. As of June 2018, roughly one-quarter of WeWork’s revenues are corporate giants (think: IBM, UBS, Facebook). And WeWork recently launched HQ by WeWork to turn co-working spaces into entire brand divisions.
Dozens of brands are offering open work houses as part of new marketing and outreach efforts. The symbolic focus of these work environments evolve around reflecting brand culture and aiming to foster community — with the brand as your new best friend, knowing exactly how to help you achieve a better work/life balance.
MINI A/D/O, Brooklyn: Named after the ‘Almagamated Drawing Office’ — the name for Mini’s first team of designers in the 50s, this is a creative, diverse and appealing work-life-space, that forms part of the company’s extensive strategy to move the brand way beyond automobiles.
Google’s Campuses, 6 locations worldwide: Offering community event spaces, workspaces, classrooms and cafes, these six Campus spaces are Google on a mission to “bring people together, connect them with others, and help launch great startups.”
SAP’s HanaHaus, Palo Alto and Newport Beach: These shared workspaces are meant to embody the software company’s promise to “innovate, foster equality, spread opportunity across borders and cultures, and help organisations run at their best.” Interestingly, this space is virtually brand-free — where A/D/O still very much looks like it sits under MINI’s brand.
> Anywhere is fair game
The savvy entrepreneurs at Spacious have thought about sharing in a different way, leasing space from businesses that are empty during the day (restaurants, bars) and offering access to workers on a membership model. Wellbeing issues aside, Spacious is providing a new way to think about sharing and optimising the use of physical space.
“Retail spaces are designed for you to come in, make a transaction and get out, and that’s why you feel weird in a coffee shop all day, because all of these spaces are designed for you to leave.” (Chris Smothers, Spacious co-founder)
The ‘living, breathing’ Workspace
Perhaps no space is under intenser scrutiny than the office. For years, the open-plan was thought to be more efficient for collaboration. But today we know open offices can be distracting and noisy, impeding interaction and increasing stress. What’s needed is a modern interpretation of the classic Bürolandschaft — a landscape varied enough to support the different tasks and activities people do in a day: focus, collaboration, learning, and socializing. Providing this variety is also the trade-off for no longer having assigned desks — instead of only owning a desk, people now have access to a whole workplace (or to the whole world within one workplace).
Employers, employees and entrepreneurs are all demanding solutions that are all about flexibility and freedom. We’re seeking a much more intuitive approach to furniture design and space layout, where space and objects adapt to us.
> Nothing is stationary
The workplaces of the future are fluid and dynamic, adapting to meet the ever-changing needs of a workforce in constant flux. The growth of shared spaces has supported this shift. It’s allowed organisations to create workplaces that give their employees a sense of belonging and collective purpose. Company offices are becoming strong signifiers of brand values. Organisational culture is now driving the development of what the physical space looks like. This has not only become desirable, but a must in the war for talent. And in the drive to create healthy and happy employees who deliver more. In the future, the only certainty is that nothing will stay the same.
For this piece, we have had the pleasure of collaborating with design strategist, Namrata Krishna, who has worked with workplace, strategy and experience for many years. She is currently working for Gensler at their London office.
