Over the past few years, technology has allowed and given people freedom to work where they want to work from. It has allowed for many people to not need to come to the office, or work from home or the local coffee shop. In fact, companies have had to focus (and are still focusing on) creating environments where it encourages people to want to come to the office rather than working at a coffee shop.
Big Changes
Offices have changed drastically over the past decade. Open plan offices are the in-thing, and corner offices are fading away. People are working off mobile devices rather than being stuck to their desks for 9 hours a day. Many people ‘hot desk’ and don’t even own their own desk space at the office. Gone are the days of formal meeting rooms only. Now companies have ‘think tank’ areas to strategise, and an area to collaborate and work as a team. No longer is the emphasis on individual work - it is mainly team-based work. Even though companies may occupy less space, there are certainly more and different types of space where employees can connect with one another. Not only does this allow for brainstorming and creativity, but also assists in reducing real estate costs in hard economic times. Real estate is being earmarked as a strategic asset. Staff are becoming more productive and less hidden away.
People have spent many years arranging their lives over the small space that they call work. Whether they occupy 5 square metres or a corner office, the office affects where they choose to live, the transport they use, where their children go to school, and even the gym they use. It all lends to the balance they create in their lives. A topic called structure. Will this still exist in 10 years time? How will people make decisions that they currently make based on their office locations?
The questions we need to ask are…if there wasn’t an office: -
- How would a company display their presence or market share? As living in a big house or driving a fancy car shows success, so does the office, size of the office or building you occupy.
- How does one store documents and create business processes when there is no central hub?
- How does one create a company culture when staff don’t communicate face to face and have impromptu interactions?
- Does this affect socialisation skills?
- Where are meetings held?
- How do you collaborate?
One thing is for certain: The office will change, as will the way people work and the furniture that they sit on. But as can be seen above, there is no way an office will ever be a thing of the past. Ways of working will just continue to change and evolve, along with technology.
Offices will become more ‘green’ to save the environment, and we will have to find ways to use less power and electricity due to electricity shortages and rising utility prices. People will focus on producing fewer carbon footprints, travel may become less and conference calls may become more.
Most importantly, we know that work will never stop and people will never stop communicating…it just depends on how and where we choose to perform these activities.
