Is there still a place for the traditional office? Giles Fuchs in Work in Mind

Attitudes to working have evolved. As businesses have begun to acknowledge and accommodate a variety of working styles, and as a result have introduced initiatives that promote employee autonomy such as remote working and flexi-time.

Despite these practices, the functional benefits of having a physical office remain.

In his recent article with Work in Mind, Giles Fuchs, Co-founder of Office Space in Town explores these characteristics of the traditional office that cannot be replicated through remote working.

Giles notes that having a physical office provides a structured environment, making it easier for many employees to plan their hours and also to maintain an important separation between their professional and personal lives, while still maintaining a sense of ‘belonging’ and familiarity, as well as benefitting from regular contact with their peers, mentors and managers.

Working from a dedicated office, with establishes firewalls and security systems, also has notable benefits in terms of cyber security. Online security is critical and is often more easily maintained in a traditional office environment.

While demand for flexible working practises continues to grow, remote working does have some negative effects. It makes it harder to nurture company culture and can lead to a sense of loneliness or isolation, whereas having employees based in one collaborative space, regularly if not every day, can promote the sharing of ideas, build relationships and make communication easier.

Giles argues that serviced offices in particular offer all the benefits of a traditional office, as well as greater flexibility and many additional benefits. Arguably they offer an ideal working environment – supporting company culture and infrastructure, while also accommodating modern ways of working, and promoting the flexibility and freedom many employees want.

Read it here.