Let’s be honest…when looking at your office design, the focus can become one of internal politics more often than not, especially when considering an office move or office refurbishment.
However, a somewhat unspoken ‘competition’ is often overlooked in office interiors, and that is the ‘static’ worker versus the ‘Coworking’ or remote worker. There often seems an element of jealousy in office design between these two groups – they all work for the same company, have the same company values, and yet, work in completely different ways and so the office refurbishment must cater for this while empathising with each side’s needs.
The static worker can envy the coworker for their ability to choose their location, work from home or work in a nearby cafe. And so it’s important to bring that feeling of freedom into the office interior design. Utilising breakout spaces, natural light and an element of fun & social interaction – creating happy collision points in the office design.
Similarly, the coworker can often feel separated from their static co-workers and the cheeky ‘inside jokes’ about the boss, or the Christmas do, as a sort of ‘lone wolf’ about town. This then, paired with an office design that situates their desk area away from the main workforce, can create further separation in any office refurbishment.
The solution to the ‘competition’ I hear you say…..integration of the two ‘species’ if you will.
Why not create an office refurbishment that merges the two cultures and places coworkers within open plan static workers, even as simply as at the end of each bank of ‘static’ user desks. Use office interior design with loose furniture items, with built in technology to double up as breakout within open plan and a ‘plug and play’ hot desk.
Office design shouldn’t be a competition. But, the real question is, as an organisation; how will you bridge the gap?