Working Space
| A new type of white-collar worker and new technology means office layouts have to change
THE millennials have arrived — with their tech — and they’re killing off traditional office design. So say goodbye to cubicles, open-plan offices and, for those who managed to climb the corporate ladder, a boardroom, a corner office and their own smoking balcony.
Millennials, according to consulting group Deloitte, are those who were born between 1982 and 2000, grew up with personal computers and are either in the early stages of their careers or going to start work in the next few years.
Their arrival — and the impact of new technology — is driving, among other things, new designs for office layouts.
As many as half of South Africa’s office workers are part of the millennial generation, says Jonathan Hall, marketing director at workplace design consultancy Tower Bridge.
Graeme Codrington, a strategy consultant and co-founder of TomorrowToday Global, said: “Essentially, offices which are being built now or in the next few years will need to accommodate people of various working age groups, but especially millennials, as they make up half of the world’s working people.
“They also have decades to work, so they need to be working in facilities that enable them THEN AND NOW: Open-plan offices need to go, but multipurpose rooms are a must, according to the latest design trends says Hall.
Work can then be done remotely from home or in coffee shops.
One of the changes wrought by the arrival of millennials and the new skills that everyone — including older employees — have had to learn, is the creation of a single room meant to be used in lots of different ways. These multifunctional spaces are being designed far more carefully than was the case even a decade ago, says Hall.
“An office for quick planning meetings wouldn’t necessarily have chairs, for example, but rather a desk with space for people to stand around and make quick decisions.”
Hall’s firm specialises in interpreting human responses and experiences through the use of neuroscience principles to create workplaces that make the people occupying them feel good.
Neuroscience is the study of how and when the brain produces the various hormones that govern our actions and responses to our environment.
Tower Bridge believes office design should take into account how a person’s brain functions in a working environment.
For example, the distractions and frustrations of open-plan offices mean many people end up only putting in half a day’s work.
And the environment also affects those who work from home.
Surveys conducted this year of South African companies show that employees work from home between 3% and 11% of the time — although this finding obviously varies depending on the industry and employee’s job.
But, says Codrington, measures need to be in place to guarantee that people will be more — or as — productive at home as they are in an office.
Then there are the health issues for office workers — especially those in big companies.
The majority of offices in South Africa typically maintain a standard ambient temperature, for example, to serve the average employee’s “thermostat”, through airconditioning.
But for airconditioners to work efficiently, windows have to be closed, which reduces the amount of “natural” air in a building. And fresh air — as long as it is not badly polluted — is important to human physiology and, ultimately, productivity.
According to Hall: “Studies by the World Green Building Council show that natural air improves human productivity by at least 11%.
“Most corporate offices in South Africa are airconditioned to counter summer heat and winter cold. Insufficient natural air in airconditioned offices is typical.
“Smaller offices that are less dependent on mechanical air conditioning will have better access to fresh air,” he says.
Hall believes many companies face the challenge of having to modernise while not spending too much.
“The future of office design is more than just the bricks and mortar that surrounds the interior. Today’s modern employee is looking for an office environment that provides different spaces where they can focus on their different tasks.
“This can be working in quiet solitude, collaborating with a team or socialising in a communal space. Modern offices will need to do this and be healthy places to work in, but will need to make changes in a constrained economic environment,” says Hall.
Better communication between leaders and millennials