The traditional office is dead. Long live the employee-focused office

Ulla Riber at ISS shares top tips on how physical offices can help with employee engagement

Offices are changing. All over the world employees who had to work from home for so long have moved back to shared workplaces, even if for only two or three days a week. But employees’ expectations and habits are not the same as they once were, and businesses all over the world need to adapt their offices to suit the new circumstances.  

It is now taken as a given that the pandemic has permanently changed employee preferences. Flexibility and the adaptability to different working styles are now expectations, not perks. Traditional offices are no longer suitable; workplaces the world over must be adapted to ensure they are attractive places for employees to come and help to drive collaboration, foster culture and attract and retain talent.  

Our research has found that businesses are very much alive to this need to adapt. A recent survey by ISS found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of global businesses are investing in their offices by upgrading their facilities and office environment with an overriding key goal in mind: driving greater employee engagement.

But how can physical offices help with employee engagement?  

The first answer is straightforward: they foster relationships between workers by enabling spontaneous communication and social bonding. I work with some of the world’s largest companies to help them manage their office space, and I often tell them that their office is the ‘cultural temple’ of their business.

Many employees enjoyed working from home and want to hold on to the flexibility it provides. Businesses that want to enable spontaneity should therefore make sure their workplaces are worth the commute. 

The changing of working habits means there should be ample space in offices to make culture more of a focus of the office. Our research found that 76% of global businesses surveyed expect anything between 25-75% occupancy on a typical workday. But the same survey found that 69% have no plans to reduce their office space.  

If less people are coming to the office every day but businesses are not reducing space, they should be looking to convert some areas put aside for traditional desks to areas for social gatherings, such as lounges, terraces, coffee areas and break-out rooms.

The office can play an even greater part in a working culture than before, but rows of desks are unlikely to inspire employees – particularly if lots of them are sitting empty when the office isn’t full. In the global fight to attract and retain talent, having a welcoming office where employees want to come and spend time with their colleagues is a huge advantage. 

A key aspect about this is that socialising is also work. When people are making connections and collaborating, they are at the same time reinforcing passion, innovation, learning and development; the very foundation of the future prosperous workplace.    

However, people are different. So, businesses must also adapt their spaces to accommodate the diverse range of work styles that exist among their employees. To be sure, many individual workers have found they are more productive and ‘get things done’ when working from home, and this is a good thing.

But personal productivity must co-exist in equilibrium with the organisational productivity – which depends on the innovation force that is only obtainable when people come together and connect. The physical workplace can play a key part in helping to strike this balance.  

Specifically, businesses should be using some of the space freed up from desks to create more collaborative spaces to encourage co-creation and innovation, as well as quieter pods where people can focus and reflect.

Sitting at an ordinary desk is something employees can do at home; what they want from an office is a varied environment with different sized spaces where they can debate ideas or think in solitude as the task of the moment requires.  

Dedicated training spaces, too, should be a priority, because learning and development is an aspect of working life that cannot be replicated to the same quality with home working. Creating these spaces obviously helps foster knowledge-sharing and upskilling for staff.

But it also demonstrates to employees that their development is a key concern for the business. In an extremely competitive talent market, showing that you have their futures in mind is vital. 

New technology is also playing a key part in ensuring employees can make the most of their time. We all know about the desk booking apps that helped with social distancing during the pandemic; businesses are now finding these tools becoming fully integrated into their working practices as staff use them to find quiet places, spontaneously book meeting rooms, or ensure they are sitting near the right colleagues for each working day.

And technology can help reduce admin time, too: voice-activated and AI technologies can simplify the IT and AV processes that previously ate up so much time and energy for office-based employees. 

Lastly, office design should be front of mind for businesses when it comes to meeting their sustainability goals – and proving to their increasingly conscious employees that they take them seriously.

The return to the office is the perfect opportunity to adapt workspaces to reduce their impact on the environment, whether through making sure food and waste management systems are up to scratch or installing smart building systems that optimise energy use. If making widespread changes to the physical offices, it is important to use renewable materials, too.  

There has been much talk about the death of the office over the last few years. But in reality, the office is not dead; it is just going through a much-needed transformation. Times of change often present opportunities in business, and at this time of great flux in working habits it will be the companies which adapt their workplaces to the preferences of employees who will see the most benefit.

Now is not the time to turn away from physical workplaces. By embracing change and adapting spaces, businesses can breathe new life into the office.  

Ulla Riber is Head of Group Workplace Management at ISS

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com