Collaborative spaces
Why and how?
In recent years, the workplace has become more human-centered. Rather than expecting people to come into an office and spend eight hours a day in a cubicle, companies offer employees spaces that are tailored to their work style.
This is why many collaborative spaces have been designed for activity-based work: people can go to phone booths to make private calls or tackle a project that requires concentration. For example, they may have informal meetings at coffee tables. For those who prefer to work in a more relaxed atmosphere, there are sofas and other forms of soft armchairs.
Activity-based workplace
Enter the emergence of activity-based workplace (ABW), a concept that fulfills four main work functions: solo work, collaboration, learning and socialization.
So, we divide the environments into closed workspaces, kitchens and meeting rooms – with social hubs at the center of everything.
Activity-based work is an economic business strategy that provides individuals with a choice of parameters for a variety of workplace activities. In addition to offices with a fixed frame (each has its own desk), staff are given the opportunity to choose a location in the office where it is most appropriate for them to perform their duties. Spaces are designed to create opportunities for a variety of workplace activities, from intense and concentrated work to impromptu and informal meetings or more formal meetings.
There are now five generations of workers. Can they work together?
People are living longer and retiring later when younger generations take their first jobs, and for the first time five generations coexist in the workplace.
We want employees – regardless of generation – to be effective, whether they are in the office or not. It starts with the physical environments we create.
The University of Arizona found that workers in open-concept environments were less stressed and more physically active than those working in private offices or cubicles. A welcoming environment, a living environment and an environment where there is capacity for collaboration will tend to be more effective across generations, but leaders need to survey their employees to find out what types of spaces are right for them.
Table football tables, playrooms and beer fridges may seem like obvious features of modern offices for millennials.
The coming of Generation Z
What about Generation Z? Born between 1998 and 2016, this young generation represents 60 million people and is the largest generational unit since the baby boomers came on the scene – and they are now entering the workforce faster than ever before.
Unlike the many adjectives that describe their Gen Y predecessors, Gen Z comes with an intense work ethic, a career-oriented future and a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
As this new generation enters the workforce, businesses need to rethink their office spaces to respond to the more whimsical nature of a millennium, while keeping in mind the drive and resolute attitude of Gen Z – a highly motivated generation.
These changes allude to a coming counter-culture, but overall, they also evoke elements of the baby boomers and their sensitivities (some of which are still at work).
Since interior design inspires corporate culture, employees need the freedom to choose how they work. People want as much privacy for confidential calls as they like to share a couch in the living room. Take a look at these unique spaces within the spaces to see why collaborative spaces are good places to work.
To conclude
Giving employees the opportunity to choose when and where they work can translate into higher productivity and better quality work.
These are just some of the benefits that collaborative workspaces offer businesses. As a result, more and more companies are incorporating flexible workspaces into their portfolios and leveraging them to improve their operations.
This is the solution to meeting the needs of all your employees: from Baby Boomers to Gen Z!!
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