Should We Revive Office Culture or Kill It Off For Good?
Pattern is a fortnightly roundtable discussion with invited participants from the built environment and related industries.
This week, we looked at the post-pandemic workplace and what needs to change in office culture.
Returning to Work
Here are two FT headlines from 2022, a couple of months apart:
Both are from the first half of the year, and they capture the current uncertainty over the return to some notion of "normal".
The arguments surrounding the benefits or pitfalls of working from home (WFH) have been further heightened by politicians weaponising the issue. A reasoned debate about how we should be working has instead become yet another casualty of the culture wars.
But if we look beyond the polarities of office versus home, what do the past two years tell us about changing attitudes to office culture?
What is Our Office Culture?
Websites providing information for people from overseas considering working in the UK provide an interesting perspective on our office culture.
The Expatica site says of managers:
“Their authority as decision-makers isn’t up for debate. Being in control and leading a team efficiently are among the most important management skills.”
It also tackles the tricky issue of class:
“A person’s educational background…continues to play a role in the workplace, and networks from school or university are still important to some companies.”
When offering advice to foreign graduates, The Student Job Blog paints a less rigidly hierarchical picture:
“Constructive criticism is a big part of UK culture. If someone offers you a way of improving your work, try and listen to their reasoning and embrace their suggestion.”
It suggests that modern UK workplaces are less hierarchical than in some other countries, but that communication between colleagues is:
“Generally understated, sarcastic and a little cynical.”
These simplistic snapshots of office culture in the UK serve as reminders of why people so readily embraced WFH. Much of traditional office culture is grim, rigid and resistant to change.
But one of the things WFH does leave people deprived of is a sense of camaraderie and the sort of spontaneity that Zoom calls can't replicate.
Healthy office cultures support career progression and professional development. They are vital for the exchange of ideas and providing excellent, client-focused services.
Office culture is still important, providing it's the right kind of culture. It should nurture talent, empower people and ensure transparent communication.
The enforced break of the pandemic should offer opportunities for employers to rethink their office cultures.
How to Retain Flexibility
Lockdown taught us a lot about resourcefulness and adaptability. It would be a loss to now lose these elements in the return to the office.
Rather than indulge in a culture war centred on getting more people back into the office, a much more progressive approach would be to look at the best ways of combining positive aspects of home and office working.
For example, there’s evidence that some employees feel WFH is a barrier to career progression. And there are other challenges, such as:
More companies are now offering hybrid employment, where employees split their time between home and the workplace.
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This is a less dramatic revolution in ways of working, but it may prove to be long-standing.
It also gives employers and employees more scope for team-building and collaboration, while softening hierarchical structures.
There are also solid, financial benefits in terms of renting less office space, providing there’s appropriate provision for flexible working.
Sharing Resources
For firms and practices involved in the built environment, a key issue is how to best distribute and deploy their resources.
Retaining and refining client-focused approaches is challenging in remote or hybrid work settings. They must balance financial viability against the demands of visibility and engagement with clients.
Another lesson from lockdown is the importance of building and using wider networks.
One possibility is a greater sharing of resources across practices, emphasising collaboration over competition.
Even smaller businesses can have some sort of global presence and connections in a joined-up, digital economy.
What Do Tomorrow’s Professionals Want?
Setting the tone for the future and attracting fresh talent should be prime considerations when firms and practices are looking at office culture.
The Implications for Regeneration
The economic arguments for returning to work and preserving office and commuter culture go beyond the personal preferences of individuals.
There’s a key question here about purpose. If the office plays a diminishing role in the town or city centre, what will replace it?
There is a large sector of the economy dependent on serving the needs of commuters, for example.
It's not simply about changing work patterns. Regeneration is tied to notions of activity in busy, urban centres. If there are fewer people commuting to offices, what will this activity comprise and will it be sufficient to replace what’s gone?
What Does Normal Look Like?
We talk about returning to normality, but we're in the middle of changing times. Post-pandemic, we've got a cost of living crisis, the war in Ukraine and further uncertainty on the horizon.
The new normal is not about stability but constant transformation. The built environment must find ways of accommodating this reality, and this includes how, and where, we will work.
The Pattern Panel
Our invited panel of guests this time comprised:
Chris Cheap, Managing Director UK Regions, Avison Young
Jonathan Miley, Director, Exterior Architecture
Mark Dewhurst, Partner, Arcadis
Lee Leston-Jones, Partner, Cundall
Alan Simpson, Director, 10architect
Patrick Ross, Development Director, Generation
Pattern provides a platform for discussion, opinion-sharing and insight within the built environment and placemaking.
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