[Urban Chronicles #WellBeingAtWork] #03 - Overview of alternative workspaces

In 2013, the National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions (ANACT) was playing a game of anticipation by imagining what the world of work will look like by 2050. Among the anticipated trends, the end of the offices was already at the top and suggested a revolution in working methods.  

Today, at a time of agile collaborative projects and new connected technologies, it seems that the disappearance of offices could occur before 2050. Indeed, the many changes that contribute to the dematerialization of work and the empowerment of employees lead to a change in the relationship with time, space and people. In this perspective, many alternative spaces are gradually emerging to replace the office. Urban Chronicles™ offers you an overview of what could be your next workspace tomorrow!

« Desk Sharing », soon your new reflex?

Announced as the successor to the open space, the desk sharing enshrines the logic of flexibility in work and business. In this new organization of the space, the employee no longer occupies a fixed position but settles down according to his needs. Breaking with the silo organization that has long prevailed, the desk sharing creates a new collaborative work dynamic in which the collaborator is able to choose his environment according to the tasks to be performed: an isolated space to think or call a customer, a meeting room to work in a team, etc.

While the desk sharing seems economically relevant at the company level, particularly for the cost reductions (rent, maintenance, special charges) it generates, it is more difficult to accept by employees who may suffer from a feeling of uprooting. The disappearance of the office, perceived as an extension of the private sphere, can instill a sense of anonymity in the employee (Elan des Talents, 2017).

Four main principles can be put in place to facilitate the implementation of Desk Sharing in your offices:

• Identify the teams most likely to take advantage of the desk sharing to set an example and gradually generate interest from other employees;
• Establish rules ensuring the implementation of an organization thought out and accepted by all;
• Set an example by involving the management team;
• Integrate Desk Sharing into a more global flex office logic that encourages the decompartmentalization of schedules and teleworking.

Teleworking, with some precautions!

Comforted by the latest ordinances reforming the labor law, telework is on the rise. Designating an organization of work carried out outside the company's premises, telework is becoming a common practice in France, since nearly one in four employees would already benefit from it informally.

Offering greater autonomy to teams and greater efficiency for some, this new work organization would significantly reduce fatigue and stress related to transportation in particular. Although the issue of work-life balance is more difficult to resolve, employees say they are satisfied with the possibility of teleworking. Employers are equally enthusiastic, noting greater commitment from their teams and a reduction in turnover after the introduction of telework.

Nevertheless, excessive teleworking can be harmful for the employee who may have difficulty working on a collective project, feel isolated or have a reduced sense of belonging to the company.

Coworking: a new employee Eldorado?

Arrived straight from the United States in 2006, the concept of coworking is a real alternative to working at home or in an office. These independent spaces of a new kind generally bring together entrepreneurs, nomadic collaborators, or freelancers in a stimulating environment, without hierarchy and without competition. Although they work for different clients, these coworkers, who live all year round or only on a temporary basis, are driven by the same logic of sharing information and knowledge.

As a full-fledged community, coworkers often extend the exchange beyond "office hours" through various afterworks, conferences, meetings and debates. Thus, coworking no longer simply offers workplaces but rather hybrid spaces offering many complementary services: barbershop, dry cleaner, janitor, etc.

In addition to the services of these "as a service" offices, the creators of coworking spaces have been able to offer a low level of commitment and reduced rates, calculated pro rata to the time of occupancy, to attract an increasing number of self-employed workers.

Long reserved for entrepreneurs and freelancers, large companies are gradually adapting to changes in the world of work by offering internal coworking spaces. Although these hybrid spaces may seem quite relevant, they may only be relevant at a certain stage of the company's development.

The consequences for the real estate market

The emergence of these new forms of work organization has a direct impact on the office property market. By associating the value of real estate assets with their geographical location for a long time, investors must modify their approach to better integrate the notion of use into their thinking. In order to avoid obsolescence of use, various means can be used to link these new working methods to properly designed workspaces to adapt to new needs:

• Develop the notion of reversibility of business premises during the design phase of real estate projects to anticipate future uses;
• Demolish/reconstruct business premises to facilitate redesign of spaces if necessary;
• Initiate a reflection on the flexibility of the commercial lease.

In this perspective, the American company WeWork has taken the lead. By offering companies to sublet workspaces via a more flexible lease than current contracts, it allows greater organizational flexibility while allowing them to remain "in control of their premises" in terms of equipment and decoration.

The revolution in fashions and the world of work is not yet over. New alternative workspaces should be developed such as co-homing, a variation of coworking at home or the concept of a multi-use building 24/24.

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