After the pandemic, workers are expecting more out of the spaces they work. Save money and give your employees more flexibility and meaning to their work with a coworking office space.
Attitudes towards work through lockdowns have changed the way we look at work. Studies have also shown that we’re not moving back.
It’s why many businesses and creative entrepreneurs are now moving to a more holistic approach to work, where employees can work in a hybrid work model and get the benefit of collaborative days in the office where they can rub shoulders with their colleagues and time at home where they can get laundry done or go out for a run between breaks.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through what steps to take to downsize your office space and maintain company culture to give your workers more autonomy, meaning and satisfaction from their work.
How to Downsize the Office Space and Maintain Great Company Culture:
Realise “Hybrid Work is the Future”
Today’s workers crave more flexibility in the way they work. Experts agree.
A June 2022 Gallup survey in the US revealed that increased part-time off, remote or WFH options, and four-day work weeks most enticed workers over other flexibility options.
Massimo Rapparino, the CIO and Head of CX at Logitech, wrote on Forbes how “many workers, especially younger generations, now prefer and expect remote or hybrid working environments that foster a mix of in-office, remote and nomadic, untethered (desk-hopping) working arrangements.”
During the Great Resignation, the ball was in the employees’ court as workers began to put greater value on their time. It caused a fundamental shift into what experts call a new type of office space.
Step 1 for Downsizing: Implement a Hybrid Workplace Model
Hybrid Workplace Meaning
In recent years, the concept of a hybrid work model has gained significant attention and has become increasingly relevant, shaping the future of work for many organisations. But what exactly does it mean? Put simply, a hybrid work model combines elements of remote work and in-person collaboration, offering flexibility and adaptability to employees and employers alike.
In a hybrid work model, employees have the freedom to work both remotely and from a physical office space. This approach acknowledges that different tasks and workstyles may require different environments. For instance, independent work that requires deep focus can be efficiently carried out remotely. At the same time, collaborative projects and face-to-face interactions may benefit from in-person meetings and shared office spaces.
The hybrid work model offers a balance between the autonomy and convenience of remote work and the benefits of in-person collaboration and connection. It recognises that work is no longer confined to a specific location or a fixed schedule.
Instead, it gives employees more control over when and where they work, fostering a better work-life balance and increasing job satisfaction.
Need some examples to get started? Here are a few.
Hybrid Workplace Examples:
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- Flexible Hybrid Work Model
In a flexible hybrid model, employees can choose their location and working hours based on the priorities of their working days. For example, they may stay home for deep-focus work or come into the office for some training or a sense of community. Businesses like Microsoft have been using this as their working model with a lot of success.
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- Fixed Hybrid Work Model
In this model, the organisation sets days and times employees are allowed to choose between working remotely or working in the office. This gives more visibility for when colleagues can expect others to be in the office but can also hamper employees’ freedom and lead to a loss of productivity, due to not being able to choose the best environment for them to work.
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- Office-First Hybrid Work Model
Employees are expected in the office in an office-first hybrid work model but can choose a few days a week to work remotely. Google has taken this model, where employees work in the office three days a week and can choose two days to work at home.
Step 2: Find a Working Environment More True to your Employees’ Natural Working Rhythms
“The Future of the Office”
Downsizing office spaces that are large and stuffy for coworking spaces that seamlessly integrate elements from work and home, is becoming the latest trend for future-focussed offices.
Have a small business? You can choose to downsize from an office lease to a private coworking office.
Maybe you have a medium or large office? You can opt for a smaller main office space and lease a space in a coworking hub to house your special projects teams.
Put away the thought of tight office cubicles across rows where people forget faces. Instead imagine working environments that are well-lit, spacious, and offer a variety of interior designs and amenities that cater to the different needs, moods and work modes that you have throughout the day. They’ll have access to the office at all hours of the day, from morning to night to cater to early birds, night owls and active busybodies that like to take a bigger break in the middle day to go to the gym.
Why? Your team need an environment where you can be authentic.
Where your ‘real’ life doesn’t stop once you get into the office but where both can peacefully co-exist, and you can work with your optimal work rhythms and not against them.
At Work inc, we have well-designed spaces that invoke creativity with premium amenities and great places to visit in the neighbourhood, that’ll bring your crew everything that they’ll need.
Your team can have their own private office pod, with a desk and storage pedestal for every worker. Remote workers that live far from your office, but close to North Sydney, can also have their own dedicated desk.
It’ll be easier for them to find their focus and satisfaction working with:
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- Well-Ddesigned Light Filled Spaces Curated for Focus
So you can get into the nitty, gritty of deep work when needed, or sit back in a comfy armchair when you’re in for a read.
- Well-Ddesigned Light Filled Spaces Curated for Focus
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- 30+ Eclectic and Unique Breakout Out Spaces
Explore and discover them all. Every break-out space has something new to enjoy and offer whether that’s at our blue sofa in front of our AFR famous rainbow book wall, above the cafe for some chilled collaborative discussion over a brew, or mashing out some leftover energy over some table tennis.
- 30+ Eclectic and Unique Breakout Out Spaces
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- 10 Meeting Rooms
Choose from 10 bookable meeting rooms for your team to hold discussions or to host and impress a client.
- 10 Meeting Rooms
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- Celebratory Fridge
Take out a good craft beer, cider or unique soda to celebrate the wins (or to help mull over those not-so-good days). Filled with different drinks, you’re bound to find a favourite.
- Celebratory Fridge
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- Hotel-like Showers (with Daily Fresh Linens)
Sometimes you just need to freshen up. Whether it’s from biking or running in the morning, a midday gym break or you need to touch up your hair, you’ll love our showers that come with all the extras to make you look, feel and smell good. Think shampoo, conditioner, body wash, daily fresh towels and GHD hair dryers, straighteners, even Dyson Airwraps.
- Hotel-like Showers (with Daily Fresh Linens)
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- Concierge Services
Take advantage of our friendly team, always ready to help, introduce you to someone else or just sit down and have a chat.
- Concierge Services
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- Podcast Studio
You may have heard that everyone’s getting into podcasts these days. Our studio is here whenever you decide to host your own or become a guest in someone else’s to let your thoughts be heard.
- Podcast Studio
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- Not to mention, an excellent cup of joe
Bay Ten Espresso isn’t known just for being our in-house cafe. It’s famous for its excellent speciality coffee, delicious breakfasts, brunches and lunches, and its warm welcoming and honest culture.
- Not to mention, an excellent cup of joe
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- All-Access, Always
You’ll always have 24/7 access to the building.
- All-Access, Always
A fuller experience. More flexibility and freedom. More opportunities to be authentic and create impact across the business world. It’s what people really mean when they talk about ‘company culture.’
Step 3: You’re Shrinking your Office Space, but Expanding your Community
“It’s all about Community”
A hybrid working model helps give your workers the connection to workers and people they need. A hybrid working model in a coworking environment expands the connections possible with a community with little in-office competition.
Research points to higher happiness in these spaces. They show that workers appreciate the benefits that come out of a coworking space, and a lot of them came out of a sense of community: such as the possibility to talk to their colleagues if needed, and the chance to meet and connect with someone new.
Beyond your private office pod, there’s also a diverse and friendly community across different industries, interests, niches, and life experiences, that make it easy to network and find opportunities for great collaborations to find that innovative spark for projects.
We’ve got people from Fintech, Physiology, Design, Law, Optometry, Media, AI, Engineering, Solar Energy and more.
Part of the coworking culture is a love for providing insight and expertise when there’s the opportunity to.
As part of a hybrid coworking office, employees are more likely to feel valued and find what they do meaningful as they are able to offer up their unique insights and create an impact in other arenas.
Step 4: Don’t Forget to Use Cloud Technology
Getting a centralised cloud system onboard is also essential for maintaining secure digital and online workspaces so that your workers can work in any environment they need to: in the office, a coworking space, in a cafe or at home.
Luckily, despite the technological name, this isn’t too difficult a task. There is a lot of cloud working and task-managing software available such as Monday or Teams to keep everyone on in your team updated and on the same page in any stage of the process – as well as IT professionals out there that you can ask to help you get set up.
FAQs.
No. In fact, studies such as from Stanford and Birmingham University show that the opposite instead is true! Hybrid work boosts productivity and makes people happier.
Economists were once fearful of how an exodus to remote work would impact productivity. Instead, the inverse proved true. Productivity boomed when many people moved to work from home during the Covid lockdowns.
Yes, while everyone craves freedom and flexibility, some workers begin to struggle without any structure. The key thing here is finding the right balance between freedom and structure and creating changes that help your employees maintain a good mix of both.
As a hybrid work model combines both in-office and remote/at-home work, many companies have been using some type of hybrid model for their staff.
