FUTURE TALENT November - January 2019/2020 | Page 43

at some sor t of open
environment and concluded
that it is bad – and it probably
was. Our database now has
m o re t h a n 6 0 0 , 0 0 0
responses; some of the best
offices are open plan, and so
are some of the worst.”
W
hile demonisation
of open-plan
offices may be
unfair, the point
remains that this design style
is not always conducive to
different types of work. An
alternative is the ‘activity-
based workplace’, wherein,
rather than being tied down
to one space, workers are
free to roam, finding suitable
areas to complete the task
at hand.
Nearly 70% of participants
i n a s t u d y by D u tc h
researchers reported that
activi t y-based working
increased their productivity,
while more than three-in-five
reported that they had more
energy. This research may
not be iron-clad, but activity-
based design could well be
the solution to one of open
p l a n’ s m o re c u r i o u s
phenomena: while we may
be surrounded by our co-
workers at all times, we
struggle to work together
effectively in those spaces.
Jones characterises this as
the dynamics between
“interaction
and
collaboration”.
“Unless your task is to
work collaboratively 24/7, you
need to set aside a space for
this,” she argues. “Otherwise
you end up in a situation
where people who aren’t
involved are disrupted by the
interactions.”
Julie Fabbri, an assistant
p rofe s s o r a t E M LYO N
Business School, believes
that effective collaboration
can be induced through
“proximit y, privacy and
permission”. She believes co-
working spaces balance
these needs effectively, as
there is an abundance of
space for workers to slink off
to in private before initiating
effective collaboration back
at their desks or in a
designated meeting room.
Manton argues that a lot
of these changes are driven
by our new working patterns.
“ Pe o p l e w a n t t h e i r
company to reflect their own
vision and values. And they
want facilities to reflect that,”
he explains. “People like
working in their local café.
Wo r k p l a c e s a n d H R
departments and company
ON TOPIC
O
DELIVEROO’S
HANGING PODS
AND POOL TABLE
People want their company
to reflect their own
vision and values
DR MARTENS’ SPACE
EMBODIES ITS
CULTURE AND SPIRIT
November – January 2019 // 43