Part 3 of 3
Last week I discussed how organisations are trying to make best use of the expensive workspace they have and how different work styles require different desking policies.
Not all workers are the same: whilst “Hub” employees may still need permanent desks, “Club” employees spend a lot of time away from their desks, and might be better off having access to a variety of touchdown and collaboration spaces, “Home” workers need to be able to release their desks for others when not in the office, and “Roam” workers, who spend a lot of time traveling, may not need a fixed desk at all and just pop in and touchdown wherever they can.
Different workspaces
I want to close this series with a few notes about different workspaces. In our new offices at Condeco, along with different types of desking policies, we are planning different types of informal working spaces for different purposes:
- “Collaboration” spaces with easily positionable furniture, writeable walls etc. for informal meetings and collaborative tasks
- “Huddle” spaces for conversations, for example high backed sofas
- “Snack” spaces where people can have a drink and quietly work
- “Quiet” spaces that enable people to get away from the noise and work on their own in a comfortable environment
Giving people quiet spaces to get away from the hustle and bustle of the open plan office is quite essential. The furniture manufacture Steelcase recently called it “The Privacy Crisis”. They state, based on research by the University of California, that it takes on average 23 minutes for an employee to return to FLOW (a state of deep engagement with a subject), and that employees are interrupted on average every 11 minutes.
So, in a new world where office-based work is no longer just happening on a desk, it’s important to consider the types of spaces that keep employees productive, and offer the tools for people to easily find and book available space.
Sources
http://www.steelcase.com/insights/articles/privacy-crisis/