There seems to be conflicting forces related to the future size of offices – the need for more space due to social distancing, and the need to downsize due to less people in the office as a result of more flexibility, such as working from home.
What are your thoughts on the future of the size and layout of offices?
This is something that is at the front of a lot of people’s minds – to a certain degree it’s still early days in this crisis, and social distancing and other requirements are key factors in this.
Reducing your footprint to a smaller space and adopting flexible work styles is great in theory, but at this point it goes against the requirements for having 4 square metres per person and increased space between individuals.
Because of this, there are a few factors to be considered that may seem to somewhat increase the size of the office, such as larger desks to ensure appropriate distancing between staff, larger meeting rooms because of density requirements, set paths of travel to reduce human-to-human interaction, and the list goes on.
However, in the long term, as the effects of the current “free trial” of remote working become more apparent, there will definitely be a reduction in office footprints.
If you move to an ABW or a more agile workplace, you could look to reduce your footprint around 30 to 40%. There is data and experience there to say that, yes, this can be done if you adopt a flexible working style.
Having said that, I think it needs to be considered that a lot of time and research needs to be done into your organisation to see whether your company is truly ready for a fully flexible work environment.
It’s more than just having some people working remotely, it’s a complete mind shift change and I think engaging with your team and employees and getting them on board to make sure everybody is comfortable with that approach is the key to success.
It’s also about looking in detail into the technology you’re using, and finding the balance between digital and in-person interaction that works for your organisation.
So in the long run, yes, there will be a reduction, but it won’t be an immediate process, as organisations need to ensure that they consider this in detail as a process of change.
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