Where and how we work isn’t about to change. It is changing. We are in the midst of a revolution. It is death of the traditional office, and the birth of co-working spaces built around collaborative centres complete with nap areas, privacy pods, cafes and war rooms.
And it isn’t just the world’s greatest tech companies or wealthiest corporations leading this trend. Serviced offices, business centres and smaller companies are all revamping their spaces dramatically—taking individual desk areas from 80% down to 20% in some cases, according to Wheelerkanik (who shared this and other interesting statistics at the e-Office conference last week.)
Things are changing for several reasons. One, the lines of work and play are blurred with the advent of the smartphone. We are in constant contact, and find ourselves replying to emails on Sunday mornings and doing webinars after hours. With our home life infiltrated by our work, we tend to want more ‘home’ things in the office—places to relax, eat, drink, sleep, shower, chat and socialise.
Secondly, with widespread high-speed internet connectivity, the cloud, VoIP and real-time collaborative apps that let team members work from anywhere easily, we now have the ability to work from just about any location very productively. This is paralleled by the birth of the nomadic worker—people who travel from city to city, working wherever they please. This Guardian article a few weeks ago provides some insight into the life of ‘digital nomads’—consultants adding fuel to the workspace revolution fire, and underscoring the fact that we really can work incredibly effectively anywhere with a decent internet connection.
Thirdly, each generation pushes us forward, often in ways we didn’t see coming. And Millennials are no different. They are forcing us to re-think the way interact professionally. They don’t want to sit at their desk all day, they want to talk to people and work from places that they enjoy being in. They like to talk things out in groups… and technology, apps and collaborative cloud-based programmes are as second nature to them as breathing and blinking.
So what is really changing here? These are the 4 key elements of the office space revolution that will become increasingly mainstream:
1) Flexi-desks: The days of having your own desk that is permanently yours and has all of your pen jars, old presentations, collected brochures and business cards are fading quickly. More likely you are going to be hot-desking at your next company to ensure more effective use of space.
2) Rest / Retreat Space: It is a dream come true. Offices are beginning to have rest / nap space, with companies realising that employees are much more productive after a 20 minute rest. At the very least, most offices have privacy pods where you can work quietly, have a private conversation or read in silence.
3) Collaboration Lounges: Different designers call them different things, but it is like a ‘town centre’ instead of a reception, filled with sofas, small break-out areas and upbeat vibe. This is where small meetings take place these days (not soulless conference rooms!).
4) Refresh: The modern office has a much bigger bathroom, equipped with showers and lockers… and often bike space as well. Companies understand that the typical commute is half of what makes work so painful to get up for sometimes. Cycling, running, walking there helps, and they will help you to do that.
The takeaway from all of this? Well in the words of the multi-generation-spanning Magic 8 ball, when it comes to the future of the office and what we can expect, theoutlook is good.
This Magic 8 ball is clearly connected to the cloud.
VTSL Ltd are experts in cloud based phone systems for businesses in London and across the UK and Ireland. For more information on VoIP services, IP business phones for your office space, get in touch today by emailing info@vtsl.net.