After the pandemic, hybrid and remote work have become more common than before. Offices are not a place focused to work anymore but, instead, a destination for collaboration. These changes have also modified how firms plan office design and space optimization: “Meeting rooms and open plan café like seating areas are replacing offices - and where you sit and work no longer denotes your place in the hierarchy.”
“By the numbers: Some 60% of firms are redesigning their offices for the post-pandemic era, according to a new report from the commercial real estate firm CBRE, which surveyed large companies around the world. Of those companies, a quarter are eliminating private offices entirely”.
According to experts, people only want to come back to offices to collaborate with partners or share in team events, but in any case, private office space will always remain. Let’s review some key ideas on how these spaces are changing to optimize use:
Since offices are primarily for teamwork, companies are changing private offices to meeting rooms of different shapes and sizes.
Firms are also investing in amenities that make workers' time worthwhile, such as outdoor spaces, onside baristas or coffee shops, auditoriums, etc.
For traditional companies or law firms, some aspects of formal office hierarchy and trappings for C-suite executives will stay.
Personal spaces will still be needed, for example, to have a video meeting or to write an important report. That is why companies will replace private offices with call rooms or study rooms that can be reserved as needed.
"Offering a sitting and standing option is standard for the offices of the future."
MKThink is working on the future of the workspace as well. Should any individual work happen at an office anymore? Or should it only be used for “pop-up” group events where collaboration is required? Should teams even have permanent offices anymore? Or central vs satellite offices? What’s the balance between employee satisfaction and productivity/creativity? Can it be measured? These and more are all the questions that MKThink’s team is tackling using a combination of interviews, sensor-based observation, modeling, and more. The new world is being explored now. Are you experimenting your way to the future? If not, contact us to help you get started!
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