Over the last few years, there have been numerous predictions that the growth of home-working will lead to major reductions in the amount of office space that organisations will need to retain. However, a new report from the British Council of Offices turns that assumption on its head.
A poll of 1,000 workers found that 75% of respondents not only work in offices but also greatly value the social benefits of working in a communal space. Interactions with colleagues and better access to technology were both rated particularly highly and, crucially, 68% saw their personal workspace as a vital element of workplace design.
These preferences are borne out by the annual FM Index KPI survey, a joint initiative between Causeway and Facilities Management Journal that has been running since 2006. This shows that the initial ‘rush’ to hot desking and other flexible working practices has eased off in the last couple of years. While such spaces now account for a higher proportion of total space than they did five years ago, most organisations continue to allocate the majority of their space to fixed workstations.
At a time when organisations are seeking to rationalise their space usage and reduce the size of their building portfolios this is clearly significant. Fixed workstations will continue to dominate the workplace scene but flexible working still has a major role to play. So the key is to optimise the use of space in line with these requirements.
Ensuring that space allocation data is up-to-date, understanding how that space is utilised and managing bookable/flexible spaces efficiently are all vital elements in achieving this. Causeway’s space and resource management technologies offer the functionality to do this quickly and efficiently so that space is an asset to the organisation, rather than a burden.
Image from telegraph.co.uk
