Space
Space??
This blog in the “Return to the Office” series is concerned with office spaces.?If organizations hope to entice workers to return to the office, they need to focus on the spaces the work from home employees have utilized during the pandemic. In addition, office spaces need to offer similar or better amenities than what employees have been using for the past year at home. For Architects and Interior Designers, space is the most exciting criteria for creating “compelling offices.”?
To?create a “compelling” space to entice employees back to the office, we need to look at where they have worked for the last year and a half.?For most people, their current “office” consists of different places in their homes.?Employees may start the day while still in bed, checking their email. Eventually, they get hungry and may move to the kitchen table for some work while enjoying coffee and breakfast.?Later in the morning, they may transfer to the sofa for a Zoom call. Finally, people might sit out on the patio and enjoy nature while catching up on email or reports in good weather.?When they need extra focus, they can?close the door?for?privacy in the home office (if they are lucky enough to have one.)?
Now compare that experience with employees coming back to the office.?Traditionally working at the office meant that they sit in the same chair in the same workstation all day long. This prospect to employees is not very exciting nor compelling. The variety of space that employees could enjoy while working from home gave them total control over their?workspaces. They no longer felt confined to a single cube or office.?It also gave visual variety in the spaces that people used throughout the day. Access to snacks and drinks that the employee liked also became important. Private restroom facilities have also been cited as a reason for remaining at home.?Control over your environment?has become the norm, and employees are not excited about returning to a ridged space with no flexibility.
To continue reading Jim’s post on our website, click here?https://onworks.design/index.php/2021/10/15/return-to-the-office-part-5-space-full-article-2