I’ve seen the future of the workplace, and I’m hopelessly optimistic.
Spoiler warning. I believe in the future of the workplace. Even more than that, I believe the workplace has a glorious future. Glorious, no less.
And that’s rich coming from me, because I am a self-confessed dour Yorkshireman. Mind you, reading many (if not most) workplace consultants who blog and post about the future of the workplace, you’d think it was the end of the workplace as we know it; for them, it’s all doom and gloom. But not me – I’ve seen the future of the workplace, and I’m hopelessly optimistic. Please, indulge me for a moment if you will, and I’ll tell you why I’m optimistic.
It’s born out of experience really. For my very first job I was plopped into the corner of a small general office, facing the wall all day. For my second job, I was awarded with a private office with no windows in a ground floor showroom away from all the other staff upstairs. Finally, my third job and I had arrived – a private corner suite with glass partitions and a view of the distant countryside. And I hated it. The more time I spent alone in my office, the more I needed to get out and be with my work colleagues – I would walk around the open plan areas regularly just to see people and stop to say hello – people must have thought I was bonkers. Looking back, I think perhaps all three employers were trying to keep me away from the rest of the staff! Then, when I was made redundant 20 years ago, I started my business working from home to keep costs down, stuck in a corner of the kids’ playroom in an alcove facing the wall – again. Looking back, I think my wife and kids didn’t want to see me either!
A bee and a beehive.
I learnt two important things from where and how I worked. Firstly, I didn’t really like working from home – it was a novelty for a while, and although quality of life was great, fairly soon it became claustrophobic and isolating, and I was relieved when I opened my first city centre office. Secondly, I have learnt from experience that we are in the main part all social creatures, and that applies to work too. Generally speaking, we like to be with and see our work colleagues. It’s just the way we are programmed as human beings. You can’t isolate a bee from its hive and expect it to make decent honey. Which is why I believe that for those who will have the opportunity to work from home going forward, regular visits to a central communal workplace or HQ will become more important to them than ever as the place to meet and greet colleagues, to catch up with them, to form personal bonds and to get things done efficiently.
Great news for Workplace Designers.
All this is terrific news for Workplace Designers. To retain and nurture their very best employees who work from home or away from the office, employers will have to create the very best workplaces – places which are a home-from-home, which immediately reinforce their corporate culture and which reinforce the message they want to give to their employees, and places which can be all things to all people, all at once. This will create a competitive environment for employers to attract and retain the very best people, and in turn it means employers will need to turn to Workplace Designers to interpret their culture and create workplaces that are… just right. It’s great news for Workplace Designers, especially those who invest in getting to really understand their clients’ culture and business needs.
Employers are ready to invest in the future of their workplace. Employees are ready to get back to working in a communal workplace either as full or part-time occupants. Workplace Designers need to be ready for the challenge of these exciting times.
Ed Fidler, January 2021