A New Era in Workplace Design
10 Ways to Navigate the Office of the Future
By Angela Ferguson
It is clear that since the COVID-19 global pandemic the way we work will never be the same again. The office of the future will have a new purpose and a new vision and be unlike anything we have ever seen before. Going forward, an organisation’s staff will need a very compelling reason to leave their homes; and the workplace will need to offer people something they cannot get from their home office environment. Through all our research at Futurespace, we have found one consistent theme – and it’s that there’s no singular experience of life and work during the global health emergency that started early in 2020.
The work we do at Futurespace has always been focused on the future. Our purpose centres around helping business (of all scales and sizes) to get the most out of their workspace, and helping them to navigate the challenges they may be facing related to culture, environment and technology. Now more than ever this focus is top of mind for many, especially as we start to blend Working from Home with Working from the Office, and organisations are keen to create the ‘best of both worlds for their people.
Following are some of the things we recommend our clients consider when assessing how their workspace is currently performing, and how they’d like it to perform in the future:
The Working Week Will Change: The standard working week of Monday til Friday 9am to 5pm is no longer relevant. This has been evolving for many years, but it is now finally a thing of the past. Hours, working times and days are all up for grabs in the new post pandemic world of work.
Elevating the Role of Technology: Virtual tools and technology have a bigger role to play, not only in supporting how we work, but how we truly connect, build relationships and empathise with each other virtually, especially in instances when face to face can be a less desirable option.
Culture drives Success: More than ever, the culture of an organisation will determine people’s workplace experience. The physical environment will need to underpin this. Culture drives loyalty, shared purpose and the capacity of an organisation to thrive.
100% Wellbeing: From ergonomics to mindfulness to resilience, physical fitness and mental health – these will play an even bigger role in the future culture of a business – and we will be prioritising mental, emotional and physical health when it comes to our workspaces.
Authentic Leadership: Leadership is entering a new era post COVID-19. It will be more relationship based – where leaders are genuine, can share openly with their teams and create an overlap of personal and professional networks that leads to new concepts of teamwork and trust.
Future-Ready Workplace: It is entirely likely that we will face future pandemics in our lifetime. Workplace design will need to consider this, and intelligent workplace designs will factor in the ability to quickly convert a physical space to one that can cope with any sort of health emergency.
Mental Agility vs Behavioural Inertia: The rapid and unprecedented shutting down of the world early in 2020 forced everyone to adopt behaviours they’d been resisting for years, creating a new openness and mental agility. The businesses that will survive and thrive are the ones with a new mental agility – supporting innovation, creativity and a growth mindset.
Compelling Work and Places; many organisations are now blending Working From Home with Working from the office, which means there now has to be a damn good reason to leave the comfort of home and travel to a large city office. The ‘why’ of an organisation’s people coming together will be fundamental.
Curation of Space and Data Metrics; individuals and teams will split their working days between the tasks preferably done in the office with tasks preferably done at home. Teams may rotate or stagger when they come into the office, meaning booking systems, apps and sensor technology will play an increasingly important role in management of environments and teams.
Collaborate, Focus and Socialise; these have long been the three main reasons why people come to a workplace.Post 2020 however, the emphasis on what is done in an office continues to evolve, and teams and individuals are seeking office spaces that support greater Collaboration and Social connections; Focussed work is predominantly done at home.