Development begins with the purpose of the office

A need for an office

The notion that working from home is a modern and unique concept born during the pandemic, is wrong – people have been working from home for a long time, and it is proven even by historical sources. From the 5th to the 15th century, most of the “office” work was done from home. Shopkeepers lived above their shops and employed the people who lived there as accountants, clerks, record-keepers, and other workers. Even doctors received their patients at home.

And the pros and cons of working from home were the same back then as they are now – yes, you didn't have to commute to work, but the lack of privacy was an issue when working from home. It was only in the 17th century that lawyers, civil servants, and other young professionals began to work from offices - this trend gained popularity in the largest European cities of the time - Amsterdam, London, and Paris. This innovation introduced a strict cultural distinction between offices dedicated only to work and homes associated with comfort, privacy, and intimacy.

The post-pandemic time is the right moment when we can objectively evaluate our offices with a fresh look and create a working environment that will not take us back to the Middle Ages but will create conditions that are appropriate and adapted to every employee.

The office follows you, not the other way around

There are many who can share various office horror stories – interviews conducted in well-renovated premises, which paint a very good image of the company, followed by disappointment on the first day of work, seeing that only the rooms intended for guests and management have been renovated, and in fact you will have to work in decrepit premises with old furniture.

Nowadays, any employee has the opportunity to clearly find out and define for themselves what the working conditions will be at the new workplace - both where the workplace will be located and what will it look like. Will I have my own office or just a work locker to store my personal belongings? Will I be able to choose the desk myself or will I have to make do with the one left over? Will my work chair be suitable for sitting long hours or will I have to struggle with back pain? Will the employer provide the necessary equipment for working from home?

The current trends of office furnishing show an interesting picture - many offices are in a sense designed like kindergartens: this is the area where we play, here we have a room for relaxation, here - a coffee corner, everyone has their own locker, and here there are tables where you can draw or work. Look, here we have a slide and a swing, and here we have beds, where you can sleep for a while.

This trend clearly shows the efforts of employers to adapt to employees and to do everything so that employees can feel as comfortable when working in the office as when working from home. Because not all workers have a game room, a slide, and a swing at home.

What is the purpose of your office?

When trying to find the answer to this question, it is necessary to start with developing the design of the organization. For what purposes is the office necessary? How do you want to see your company in terms of functions, organizational structure, and employee flow? Which employees will interact with each other and how often? How do you want your employees to meet – in meeting rooms, lounges or online? The latest office trends show the office as a collaboration agency, a pre-meeting meeting place, and the office as a place to promote the company's social capital. The concept of “AGILE” offices, which we could also call “action offices”, is becoming more and more common. Before proceeding with the design of the premises, it is first necessary to answer a rather long series of questions during the development of the organizational design.

It is very important to consider the experience and expectations of employees. Adaptation is the key word. Have you researched where your employees live? How far from the office are they? If the office is in Riga, but the employee lives in Dobele, which is 70 kilometres from the capital, it is unlikely that the employee will come in the office every day. Also, parking options for your employees should be considered when determining the design of the organization. If your employees have children of kindergarten and primary school age, you must understand that the employee will have to take their children to kindergartens, schools, afterschool activities, rehearsals, etc. If the office is in the city centre and does not have its own parking lot, then inviting employees with small children to use public transport will not be the best option.

There is another trend - more and more employers are forced to pay increased attention to is the so-called digital nomads - these are people who freely travel around the world, while working remotely by using the latest technologies and the Internet. Such people typically have minimal material possessions and work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, cafes, public libraries, co-working spaces, or recreational vehicles using WiFi, smartphones, or mobile hotspots for internet access. A 2020 study by MBO Partners found that 10.9 million American workers describe themselves as digital nomads, a 49% increase from 2019. As more and more workers realize that such a work model is possible at all, whole websites are created specifically for digital nomads, where it is possible to find places to work and live.

If for various reasons the number of digital nomads in the company increases, the purpose of your office will likely change as well.

Company culture – the core of any office

After organizational design, the next task is to define the workplace culture. Every company has its own traditions, its own written and unwritten rules, and culture in any context needs to be nurtured and fostered, but the approach of how to do it matters. In many companies, entire walls are dedicated to diplomas, cups, and pennants, which on the one hand is understandable, but it must be understood that new employees are unlikely to be inspired by these walls. If the employee was not present in the distant year 2001, when the company received an award, this wall of success will not mean anything to them. A better solution would be a wall on which the company's goals are defined. When passing such a wall, each employee is perfectly aware of what the goal is and what exactly they need to do to achieve it - to some extent, this is self-suggestion.

Also, a part of the company culture are online meetings with blurred backgrounds of the participants. If the employee is participating in the meeting from home, it is understandable if they do not want to show their private space. But if the employee is unwilling to show their office, the employer should do something about it - this problem could be solved by a small portable company logo or an appropriately designed workplace. After all, there is no doubt that online meetings are here to stay in everyday work, and workplace culture needs to be cultivated during video calls as well.

The most important thing is to approach the creation of the office seriously, as almost any aspect of the company's operation depends on it. Create an office where employees will want to associate themselves with your company, where they will proudly carry your company's values and understand their place in the company. And most importantly, create an office where employees will come in not only to meet their colleagues, but also to fuel the growth of the company itself.