Companies are rethinking their office spaces as hybrid working becomes commonplace and employees look for fun, collaboration, and shorter commutes.
Workspaces will have to be designed to facilitate collaboration and be better than working from home, reports the Financial Times.
Tech giant Google is experimenting. In response to worker demands for flexibility, CEO Sundar Pichai says the company is testing “multipurpose offices and private workspaces.”
Additionally, continuous development of better video meeting technology is in place to create “greater equity between employees in the office and those joining virtually.”
Also important is location – one that offers the shortest commute if possible. If work is about collaboration, offices should be located in central areas and provide access to amenities inside and out, such as cafes, bars and restaurants.
Organizations have begun to lean into the concept of third-spaces – whether cafes, hotel lobbies, or shared kitchen tables. Spacemize, an app that offers flexible workspace in hotels, recently expanded from the UK to the US.
Steve Tonks, SVP for Europe, Middle East and Africa at WorkForce Software, says use of third spaces could help companies reduce employee attrition rates because they offer additional flexibility.
Whatever option is chosen, he says “to create better experiences for employees, companies must invest in engaging, user-friendly and smart technologies to support workers wherever they are.”