Offices will stay and continue to play a critical role in the new normal. However, there will be inevitable transformation, evolution, and makeovers in terms of designs, spatial layouts, and workflow management.
In modern times (preferably post WW2) offices have played a critical role. They have offered a common ground for the employees, management, investors, clients, vendors, and probably a lot more to come together, work in tandem, learn & unlearn, and eventually drive organizational growth. Looking at the crucial role they have donned, we can safely infer them as one of the engines of the modern economy.
The idea of office spaces has been so closely knitted with the ideals of growth, economy, and modernization that offices enjoyed a near-sacrosanct status. The onset of the previous decade did see an uptick in remote working culture in certain quarters of the globe, the strong ground held by modern offices remained unscathed. Most big enterprises continued to vie with each other to get a hold of a prime address in the coveted CBDs of the world.
The Virus Makes Its Presence Known
Towards the end of 2019, the world came to terms with one of the biggest crises in its history. The novel coronavirus which originated in China and spread like wildfire all over the world also ushered in an era of unprecedented medical nightmares, uncertainties, and social lockdowns. Amidst the many changes that it induced, the virus also altered the novelty hitherto enjoyed by office spaces.
The crisis has rewritten the rules of the game dramatically. It showed that Work from Home (WFH) or remote working is not a fad but a reality. In a 100% WFH mode as well companies can operate efficiently. They just do not operate but can thrive.
This also led to the perennial question, what is the future of office? Will they exist or slowly and gradually move into oblivion, as WFH/ remote working will outflank it? It is seemingly logical that if a system can smoothly operate without investing in real brick and mortar offices, why do we need make the investments. After all office leases comprise 5-10% of the overall budget and that’s a big number.
Offices Will Continue to Hold Importance
Personally, I believe that it is short-sighted and poor judgment to believe that offices will be replaced completely. They will continue to play an important role as pillars of economic wellbeing and structure. After all, offices are linked to one of the core fundamentals of human psychology, to be part of a meaningful tribe of people and work cohesively in a team for the larger good. This has been integral to modern man’s evolution and no matter how flexible and enticing the WFH culture looks, it falls short of appealing to the base of human instinct- their craving to be part of a group.
Besides, there is much more to offices that give them a nearly indispensable position, even in the new scheme of things. The serendipitous water cooler discussions or casual chitchats, no matter how trivial they seem to be, promote breakthrough ideas and solutions. Offices by & large promote group work, help think collectively, and come up with the right solution. Offices also help in hands-on training of new joiners, which otherwise is a little difficult in a virtual atmosphere.
The Future of Offices will be about Channeling the Collaboration
The offices will stay and continue to play a critical role in the new normal. However, there will be inevitable transformation, evolution, and makeovers in terms of designs, spatial layouts, and workflow management. Hitherto, offices have played a significant role in attracting talent, hosting clients, and corroborating the brand image of an organization.
In the new normal, the offices would need to shift away from their hallmark traditional definition. Rather, they would be the bastions of employee productivity, collaborative passion, and group thinking. From all the delineation, cartelization, and isolation that has been caused in the past 2 years of the pandemic, the new age office can emerge as the harbinger of relief and renewed freshness. They will be seen as facilitators and promoters of meaningful human interactions, something which probably most of us are carving for the past 2 years.
We are also bound to see a certain degree of hotelization of offices as well, with an increased focus on comfort and home-like personal space for the employees. The hotelization probably would not mean luxury services but will surely translate into value addition, in terms of services and personal care.
Mixed Models of leasing
It will also be intriguing to see both WFH and Work from Office (WFO) working simultaneously, which will be a fountainhead to new models of leasing.
Since dedensification and increased social distancing will continue to be the major themes, organizations mostly won’t roll back WFH, despite a possible situation of a complete curtailment of the virus. A sizable portion will do fully or partial WFH while others will come to the office.
This would mean that in the near future, the leasing will be a mix of owned spaces, rented spaces, flexible rentable spaces, temporary spaces, etc. to match the evolving workflow pattern. Likewise, enterprises would not mind buying and leasing co-working spaces to shift a part of their workforce. The low-cost community-based model prescribed by the co-working space will be in sync with the changing realities.
(By Ankit Kansal, Founder & MD, Axon Developers)