Why The Office Isn’t Dead

Although the majority of the workforce have been working from home over the last few months, the office isn’t dead - but it is getting better. A return to ‘the new normal’ means more flexibility, more adaptability, more choice and greater wellbeing for both companies and employees alike. Remote working is likely set to become a permanent way of life - but being confined to the house need not be.

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Working from home provides many societal benefits, including reduced pollution and emissions thanks to a reduction in the rush hour commute, improved future development of areas outside major cities as people retreat back to commuter belts, and a better work-life balance thanks to greater freedoms and autonomy.

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However on an individual level, there are also many benefits to be had from venturing out to a local workspace, including immersion into a passionate community culture, increased social support, better facilities and improved boundaries around work and home life. Popular with freelancers, start-ups and corporate companies alike, co-working spaces are increasingly adapting to have something to offer everyone.

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Studies have shown that people working together in the same room tend to solve problems more quickly than remote workers, which is vital to efficiency and endurance when the lockdown lifts. The rise of remote work and access to faster personal technology has meant a drop in the need for face time, but in-person interaction comes with a holistic array of benefits that spreadsheets and ‘big data’ would find hard to replicate. Where efficiency meets efficacy, is the interface between the digital and the human.

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The offices of the future are already being designed with access to services and locations that are unparalleled to anything a fully remote team can access: high-end bookable office spaces for company meetings equipped with smart boards and live occupancy insights, catering, productivity tools and furnishings for focus. Many are already missing the infrastructure, space, separation and structure that having a dedicated workspace can provide.

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Professional workspaces rely on customer satisfaction in order to survive, meaning that being equipped with the latest in workplace wellbeing and design is already at the forefront of their offering, whereas the reduced bandwidth of the average household may have seen many people struggle with faulty zoom connections and unwelcome interruptions, or a lack of peace of mind. Neighbourhood co-working sites are bringing people together in a way that even community events have often failed to do, and tackling the issues around communicating solely via email and phone, with some good old fashioned face to face.

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Covid-19 has undoubtedly changed the way we view many aspects of our daily lives, and a commute to an inner-city crowded office certainly seems both unattractive and unfeasible for quite some time. To overcome this, the solution may be de-centralised offices, with many more regional hubs. These satellite offices are a win-win for company and employee, allowing individuals to work nearer to home, without some of the frustrating trade-offs of being confined to the kitchen workbench. Such spaces also act as culture centres, allowing teams the flexibility to meet, collaborate and check-in, with privacy and professionalism.

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The local landscape is evolving, and as spaces such as retail centres decline and begin to move online, the real estate is being populated with new opportunities that have experience and connection at their core. In Cambridge, x+why are to become one of the first retail to office conversions available in the area, providing access to workplace productivity and wellbeing for freelancers and SMEs in the heart of The Grafton Centre. Co-working membership allows you to have exclusive access to a private serviced office just a stones throw away from your doorstep, and a mixed model approach gives employees the choice to roam between home, a regional hub and a companies central HQ, depending on their needs and demands.

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A recent survey conducted by CBRE found that while many employees are satisfied with the move to a more remote way of work and its benefits - including saving money, foregoing the commute, and gaining more control over their schedule - they still believe the office to be a critical place for making meaningful connections, whether that be through planned meetings or chance encounters. The office isn’t dead, but it is evolving into hubs that are further focused on open communication and creativity, with an emphasis on a ‘new work world that emphasises flexibility and more intentional time in the office.’

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Interestingly, the same survey found that organised ‘fun workplace perks’ such as social events were ‘low motivators’ for peoples desire to return to the workplace, suggesting that while a blended approach has its benefits, employees may be seeking clearer distinctions between their home, work and personal or social lives and needs. Working with clients purely online is a pain point for many employees adapting to the restrictions of COVID, and genuine connection with colleagues is what most people are missing without a dedicated office space.

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Co-working spaces cater to this need, without compromising on the popularity of the remote employees new-found freedom and flexibility and many companies are seeking to motivate their staff with the adoption of new policies. A large number of organisations have already announced that they will allow their employees to choose to continue working remotely, while others are trialling staggered shifts or an increase in part-time roles. People today are navigating a radically different workday, and this will continue even after lockdowns are lifted and organisations are cleared to open their traditional offices.

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As a result, re-opening the traditional office for just 10% of the workforce is an uneconomical option, and organisations are thinking twice before committing to a long-term lease in the current climate, making flexible workspaces an increasingly attractive option to relocate teams as employees emerge from lockdown. An inability to unplug, loneliness and distraction are some of the major pitfalls of home working longer-term, and flex-space providers are bridging the disconnection, while meeting health and safety concerns. Having employees distributed across numerous sites means there are fewer people to spread infection, and if someone is taken ill, the entire workforce isn’t compromised.

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Some workspace providers have already taken steps to install the latest in clean-tech, including thermal imaging cameras that test the temperature of people entering the building, signage and one-way-systems, as well as best-in-class ventilation, and increased levels of sanitation and hygiene. Other methods include social distancing desk policies, increased bike storage and improved shower room and locker room facilities.

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Getting teams back into offices is a requirement for the UK’s morale and economic recovery, and the most successful businesses of the new age are those that are effectively finding an equilibrium between the old and the new, balancing home and office life. Flexible workspaces offer businesses the ability to be nimbler as they recover from the financial strains of the pandemic - an adaptability that’s no longer just a ‘nice to have’, but which is now essential for survival. As we emerge from the other side of the impact of COVID-19, the office most certainly isn’t dead, but the office as we know it is.

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