The concept of alternative work environments (AWE) is becoming more common in many organizations throughout North America. The AWE concepts suggest that employees can work as effectively, or more effectively, in "non-traditional" spaces. These new spaces tend to include more group areas, soft seating areas, food spaces, team suites, etc.
In many AWE scenarios the common element is the move to smaller offices. This move is often met with resistance from employees. One of the reasons for resistance is the way we have assigned space in the past. Traditionally, space has been allocated based on rank. In other words, if you were the most junior person in the organization you would end up in a small cubicle, with the most senior person having a large office. We all know that the level in the organization does not always match our actual space needs. For example, a person in a small "cube" may not have enough space for dealing with large drawings, a senior sales person with a large office may only be in the office one day a week and not be utilizing their space. The AWE concepts suggest that space should be allocated on need rather than rank.
Offices which have been designed with AWE concepts in mind often include small offices. The small offices for multiple activities. They can be used as personal harbours where an employee would utilize the space for quiet heads-down work improving their personal productivity on these activities over the standard open-office concept. Very small office spaces can be used as "phone booths" -- spaces where employees can go to make or take phone calls that require privacy and/or concentration (teleconferencing situations). Other small office spaces can be used for interviews, small meetings, etc.
The challenge in implementing small enclosed spaces is getting employees to buy into the concept. Many employees discount the small office concept as being too small for an employee to work in full-time. They are probably correct if these small offices are integrated into a traditional office design. However, by broadening the design to that of full AWE we find that employees can use the small offices for certain job activities and use the larger open spaces for others. In other words, use the space that best fits the task you have to perform at the time.
When employees accept the overall AWE concepts they are able to recognize the benefit of the small office spaces and they learn to use a broader range of space options which will now be available within the organization.
Some organizations have taken AWE to the point where no one has a permanently assigned office. Let us consider a typical day in the this type of office for a financial analyst. Jane arrives at the office in the morning and proceeds to her private locker to retrieve the materials she will be using today at the office. She plans to start her day by checking her e-mail and then attending a departmental meeting. She takes her notebook computer to a library carrel type space where she plugs into the network to retrieve her messages. At 9:00 she heads off for a meeting in the boardroom. The meeting is over a 11:00 and Jane is ready to put the finishing touches on a financial analysis report she has been writing. She finds one of the small enclosed offices which she can use for a few hours. She plugs her notebook computer into the network connection in the office and starts her concentrated work. Jane finishes up her concentrated work at 3:00 p.m. and heads to the financial analysis team space where she wants to check some of the assumptions in her report with her peers. At 4:00 p.m. Jane enters a phone booth space to call an investment broker the organization has been dealing with to confirm some confidential information about a proposed corporate share offering.
Jane's day has been spent working in several different locations, picking the locations that best suited the tasks she had to accomplish. Working in the non-territorial office is, of course, dramatically different than the traditional office environments we are accustomed to today. Jane and other workers in an alternative work environment do not complain about the size of the offices. Instead, they focus on using the space as a tool which helps them complete their job and not as a final destination.
Workers will initially be concerned about a perceived loss of space where small and very small office spaces are utilized. The way to sell people on these new small spaces is to remind them that they will not be using them all day long -- they will merely use the space which is most appropriate for the task at hand and they will have more space available to them collectively than ever before.
The move to small office spaces is not easy for those who will be using the space full-time. However, there are again ways to make these spaces more comfortable. First of all, consider using glass walls instead of solid walls. This will allow the worker in the office to feel that more space is available. Secondly consider using sliding doors rather than swing doors. A recent meeting with Michele Facey of SMED International included a discussion on their new wall panel system and the availability of pocket doors. According to Facey the traditional swing door takes up approximately nine square feet which can be recaptured with the sliding door.
In conclusion, small office spaces are here to stay. When implemented in a traditional office setting they must be designed in a way that maximizes every remaining square foot of the office. When implemented in an alternative work environment they must be integrated into a series of work spaces which can be shared by employees.
CONTACT:
Ken Robertson
KLR Consulting Inc.
phone: (604) 294-2292
e-mail: ken.robertson@klr.com
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