Trust vs. control: Seven trends in office environments

Globalization, digitization and knowledge transfer: the world of work is changing. And with it, the demands of employees and entrepreneurs on their working or office worlds are changing. "Current developments are not fundamentally different from ten years ago. But: Their interpretation goes much further. Digitization or mobility permeate the working world in a new dimension. This accelerates and changes processes sustainably. A sustainably designed office must adapt to this. What is interesting here is that currently it is rather the large companies that are learning from the small companies to do this," says Sven Bietau, Managing Director of conceptsued gmbh. The consulting firm from Munich supports companies in the selection and redesign of commercial properties. One key observation: small, inexperienced companies in particular are the driving force behind current developments. They try out more, also allow ideas to fail. Sven Bietau uses seven trends to explain what the workplace of the future will look like.

Megatrend: Individualization of work

New technologies and digitization are making it possible to live an increasingly individualized life. The car can be tailored to one's own needs. When shopping, consumers are no longer tied to cities or stores. Even if older generations find this more difficult: Generations Y and Z, born in 1980 and later, are digital natives. For them, certain freedoms are normal. This also affects their demands on the workplace. "In the past, there were workplaces filled with people. Today, the office is all about people and new ways of working. 'Srcum Working' and agile working are just two trends there that are taking hold in many companies," says Sven Bietau. According to the expert, there is no one right office. Rather, certain basic requirements must be met, such as fixed locations for clerical work. Beyond that, however, areas are created that can be used individually and flexibly. There are no longer any fixed rules or places.

The office as an emotional bonding agent to the company

The location of the workplace was hardly important to employees in the past. Pride was taken in the corporate brand. Today, the location, concept and furnishings of the office are the focus of appreciation. Sven Bietau: "Many experts say that location is more important today than salary. I am convinced that both are now so important to young professionals that the much-described 'war of talents' cannot be won with a good location or an appropriate salary alone."

The office as a place of well-being

What is true for one's own home is now increasingly true for one's job as well: People want to feel good at their workplace. Forward-looking entrepreneurs know that office environments that employees enjoy are important prerequisites for motivation and performance. The same applies here as in one's own four walls: The furnishings should be multifunctional and flexible. In this way, entire rooms can be rethought again and again and adjusted to different work situations at any time.

The office as a social hub

Within the office, teamwork is becoming more important - but for limited periods of time. According to the so-called 'Scrum Working' model, colleagues work together on a topic for two weeks, for example. The work is started in the group. This is where everyone's knowledge is pooled. This is followed by the individual implementation of the necessary individual tasks and discussions in small teams. These teams then present their results to their colleagues in the larger team. The goal is the rapid and creative development of ideas within short time intervals. In this way, workspaces develop into 'hubs' that can be quickly enlarged for joint brainstorming. Retreats allow concentrated work alone. Lounges invite casual conversations, sports areas invite exercise.

The office as a knowledge broker

The individualization of the employee is also accompanied by increasing demands on the employer in terms of further training. Sven Bietau: "Employees today want to develop their own skills or reduce deficits. At the same time, they also have to do this because technical progress is becoming ever faster. For this, too, employers must create space in their own companies and offer appropriate technologies."

The office as a technology laboratory

Formerly reserved for the boss or department head, the cordless telephone is now part of the office standard. With it, employees can be reached at their fixed workstation, in the meeting room or in the lounge. Increasingly important, however, are software and technology: employees in companies write programs themselves and share them with colleagues via screens; infinite whiteboards can be shared by everyone and filled with information. "Screens are alive today: The computer-aided drafting program can be open on one screen, and next to it, simultaneously, a website on the Internet, a video screen, and a hand sketch. This is increasingly important for communicating with customers and colleagues who are not in the same location, for developing products, and for solving increasingly complex tasks," says Bietau.

Trust vs. control

Sofa, park, lake or 'home office': Today's employees want to decide for themselves from where they start their laptop or make a phone call to the supplier. This, too, is leading to changes within the office worlds. Sven Bietau: "The basis and prerequisite for the success of the new ways of working and the office worlds designed for them is trust. It is no longer presence that is the proof of performance, but the work result."

Source and further information: http://www.conceptsued.com/