Rethinking Your Office Layout

Many employees are ready to get back to the office.

In fact, 70 percent want to work in the office for most of the week, while only 12 percent want to continue working from home full-time, according to Gensler’s recent “U.S. Work From Home Survey.”

That’s good news for business. Working in an office has a number of benefits for everyone, such as eliminating distractions; encouraging innovation through spontaneous interactions; supporting collaboration and community- building; and even helping prevent burnout by giving employees a greater separation between their personal and private lives.

However, employees aren’t ready to return to the offices they left behind. They want to see changes designed to protect their health and safety as well as their newfound flexibility.

Therefore, employers should be prepared to reconfigure their office to accommodate current employee expectations as well as ongoing business priorities.

That means embracing a whole new way of working, one which creates a safe environment where talent can collaborate with one another, be more productive, and achieve their organization’s objectives. Read on to discover which solutions are right for your business.

Determining your office layout.

Goal

Individual focus work without the distractions of home

Solution

Hoteling

What it Means 

Team members book desks ahead of time

Best For

Large teams in which a small portion want to be in the office sometimes

TIP!

Use conference rooms and other meeting spaces for collaboration.

Goal

A combination of individual focus work and group collaboration

Solution

Mixed-Used

What It Means

Staggered workstations facing each other

Best For

Teams that require short sprints of focus work as well as time to collaborate

TIP!

Assign members desks that they can always use during their shift.

Goal

Collaboration, brainstorming, debate, and decision making

Solution

Conference Room

What It Means

Desks grouped together to create a meeting room within a private office

Best For

Highly-collaborative and creative groups

TIP!

Book phone booths and small meeting rooms for individual work sessions throughout the day.

Goal

Managing a distributed workforce

Solution

Dedicated Desks

What It Means

Turn your office into your headquarters, using one of the configurations above, while also giving team members access to dedicated desks in workspaces across the country

Best For

Teams with members living in different cities or different parts of one city who would prefer to come to a location that doesn’t require them to use public transportation.

TIP!

Consider providing employees who live farther away with a ridesharing stipend on days they’re needed in your central office.

Explore how Industrious can design a workplace that meets your business’ needs.