2020 has clearly been an extraordinary year for the workplace. Office usage became front page fodder and the ‘death of the office’ widely proclaimed by the media. We are possibly in the midst of the greatest and most rapid change to the way we work that we have ever seen. But what are the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of this transformation? 

 

Members of the NLA Expert Panel on Work split into subgroups to discuss different themes covering occupier trends, workplace design transformation and base building design impact. On Monday 19 October, the whole group reconvened and asked: what would happen if we lost the office permanently?

 

One thing is clear across our experience, the disappearance of the office is not the likely end game of the pandemic, although it will almost undoubtedly change. The consensus between panellists is that largely occupiers are not yet clear on what this change means for them. Clearly there are some tasks that can be done effectively from home but others that are not. If you cannot work in an office, where do you come together to collaborate, build relationships or develop talent?

 

If the office was lost, the home would need to respond to fill the void. For many people home is not a long-term option as it is not conducive to effective or productive working. Therefore, third spaces will need to evolve. What these are will be driven by the needs of people, which will all be very different. This presents opportunities to re-purpose space (such as high street retail) to meet some of this new demand. 

 

Offices are increasingly the embodiment of the corporate brand. Loss of corporate culture was cited as a driver to pull Yahoo and IBM back to the physical workspace earlier this century. These examples highlight the challenges in maintaining corporate culture without a physical place for people to come together. Critically it also makes it hard to feel connected to the business itself, and aligned to its mission and purpose which is an increasingly important part of work-life for millennials and Gen-Z. We have seen primary networks strengthened but secondary and tertiary networks weakened. The process of forming new relationships will need to adapt. Spaces, virtually or physically, are needed to support the chance encounter that prompts the cross pollination of ideas and sparks new relationships. Surveys show that learning is also being increasingly impacted as a result of prolonged home working. Whilst formal training can be held virtually, the real loss is around the informal and passive learning. Different types of people naturally gravitate to different working environments but how can we bring these people together to ensure decision making is strengthened by diversity?

 

The panel unanimously agreed that the office is not dead. The office will remain a critical driver of culture, learning and personal connections. Businesses will inevitably consider their occupational strategies – how much and what kind of space they need, how do they recruit and retain the best talent and where do those people want to work. They will need to consider how to take care of their virtual workforce, protect employee experience, company culture and support transition back to the physical workplace.

 

In the short term the focus on hygiene and wellness is already playing out as workplaces embrace bio-security – no-touch surfaces, density and distancing, cleaning and maintenance, and the importance of outdoors and nature. The experience required to attract employees back to the workplace will become increasingly important, it must add value and provide enrichment. Moving towards a partnership approach, recognising the employee as the customer and decision maker and responding to their needs. Enhanced and diversified service models: real estate plus.

Fluid Workspace, Nex— © Jim Stephenson