How Remote Workers Are Changing Office Design

With constant rail disruptions, kids home from school for the holidays and London’s winter weather, the temptation to work from home or some “third place” is almost irresistible. Morgan Lovell’s head of workplace consultancy, Sam Sahni, says enlightened employers should encourage staff to work remotely; it helps keep employees healthy, happy, motivated and productive, and can contribute to the company’s bottom line.

Companies are increasingly ditching the 9-to-5 grind and recognizing the benefits of flexible hours, remote working and online collaboration. Sam says agile working can be extremely empowering. “Employers of course have a big role to play in enabling this—through good IT connectivity and by creating a culture in which it’s seen as acceptable, even encouraged, for staff to work from a tertiary location such as their own homes. Why not make it easy for staff and the company to regain control of inefficient and uncomfortable travel time? Especially, when at no fault of your own, train staff decides to halt the transport system, taking the productivity of several million people at ransom.”

"Presenteeism" is a big issue in the British workplace, but studies show it doesn’t aid productivity. Sam says it is best to enable your workforce to be productive anywhere, and the results will speak for themselves.

So what will happen to all our offices when nobody needs them anymore? That day will likely never come. A recent report from Area Squared noted that as more people work away from the office, workplaces will start to shrink—but there will be an increased need for satellite offices where people can meet with colleagues and counterparties. Area Squared proposes "landing zones" and transient multi-use spaces that include clearly demarcated zones such as breakout areas to relax or collaborate and a no-interruptions policy in certain zones to reduce distractions.

Those collaborative spaces are key for peak productivity, Sam says. One of the latest fit-outs that Morgan Lovell has been involved with was delivering a collaborative space for the Alan Turing Institute within the British Library. It’s a mix of communal gathering spaces where researchers can mingle, work and relax. Provisions have been made for lecture spaces to share information and smaller work pods for those who need privacy. Nearly all the surfaces—walls, glass partitions, etc.—are made available for people to jot down notes or messages, work out formulas and share ideas. The whole place is conducive to creativity and problem-solving.

Companies will need to think about how their technology requirements will change as people become more mobile. While some large companies can afford—and will continue to use—large telepresence rooms with top-quality cameras, audio, lighting and room design, those expenditures will likely not make much sense for a dispersed workforce that uses the facilities for only a fraction of a year. What will become of those dedicated conferencing spaces and server rooms? It's a question becoming increasingly relevant as workers are unshackled from their desks.