Reinventing the Desk: Making Young Talent More At Home In the Workplace Is Productive and Profitable

Office design now only looks like it's a variation on a theme from College Dorm Room 101 or Fraternity Basement  202. Personalization, comfort, informality, a hint of anarchy and a large measure of chaos.

What happened to regimentation and hierarchy? Technology happened. And it resulted in two things: stupendous financial success for the seemingly undisciplined cadres who invented it and new ways of doing business.

Office design is evolving to reflect the way people want to work and the way they have to work. Collaboration is in, which means meeting spaces that can be adapted to a variety of tasks. Personal space is shrinking to reflect the fact that the average desk is only occupied 30-45 percent of the time. That's a lot of expensive real estate going unused.

And, by the way, who says you have to use a desk?

The reality is that when people want to work in groups they need spaces that can be flexible enough meet that need without presuming they know the size, composition or purpose of the group in question. And when members of those groups need privacy and quiet, the organization's future may hinge on their ability to find it. Fast.

A new ethos has emerged. But it would be unwise to assume it will last as long as did its predecessors, the row of desks and the cubicle. Things change quickly and the office has to be flexible enough to accommodate those needs - or another organization will soon be moving in. JL

Clare Dowdy reports in the Financial Times:

Talented young tech recruits can be lured into the workplace with furniture. A decade ago, it was not unusual for a business to spend 70 per cent of its furniture budget on desks and task chairs, and the rest on “soft” furniture. The proportions are often reversed now.
The vast Koelnmesse exhibition hall in Cologne was awash with felt last month. Seating designers at the Orgatec office furniture fair had made plentiful use of its noise-absorbing properties to cover spacious high-backed seating that was quite different from the standard, functional chairs that most of us use.Office workers increasingly spend time away from their base. When they do come into the office, it is to work at a shared desk or to meet up with colleagues for discussions, hence the need for comfort and some help to keep noise levels down. The requirements are similar for the increasing numbers who work at home.
Until a few years ago, shows like Orgatec, Europe’s biggest office furniture trade fair, mostly featured the ubiquitous highly functional task chairs and workstations familiar to most of us. But with mobile technology allowing more professionals to work away from their desk, the office space has changed and manufacturers have had to adjust.On average, 30 per cent to 45 per cent of traditionally allocated desks are occupied at any one time, according to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.
If fewer staff are permanently tied to their workstation, there is less need for everyone to have their own desk. The workplace-design industry estimates that many companies allocate around seven desks for 10 staff, says Felicity Roocke, who heads interior design in the UK for the architecture firm Hassell. At the same time, this hot-desking frees space for other activities, such as collaborating on a project with colleagues or concentrating on a tricky task alone.
Workplace designers have responded by devoting more space to cafés, comfortable seating and quiet spots, where studies repeatedly show that knowledge workers are more productive. A decade ago, it was not unusual for a UK business to spend 70 per cent of its furniture budget on desks and task chairs, and the rest on “soft” furniture. The proportions are often reversed now, says Steve Fitch, sales director at UK furniture supplier Dovetail.
“The actual desk has become a total commodity,” says designer Konstantin Grcic, who has created such workplace items for the Swiss furniture company Vitra as a workstation. “Companies don’t spend much money on desks (meaning simple long trestle table-style desking), but they spend a lot of money on lounge areas and cafeterias.”

Staff who work away from the office a lot may spend some of their time in coffee shops with WiFi and in external meetings, but they could also be working from home. According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, of the 30.2m people in work January to March 2014, 4.2m spent at least half their working hours at home. The ONS also noted that the homeworkers were in some of the highest skilled roles in the economy.

Similarly in the US, 64m have jobs that involve working from home, according to Global Workplace Analytics. More than 75 per cent have an annual salary of at least $65,000.
Homeworkers require a proper home office set-up, rather than the kitchen table, and that is good news for office furniture makers.
Some employers pay for home office furniture. In the UK that could be a budget of £1,750 to £2,500 for desk, chair and storage, says Graeme Winship of Bisley Direct, which sells office equipment online for Bisley, an office storage specialist that has moved into furniture.
“Four years ago when we started, 80 per cent of our sales were business to business. Now 60 per cent of our sales are private, for home offices.”
The home-office department of UK retail chain John Lewis has also benefited from the boom in homeworking and start-ups, many of which are set up at home. The department’s sales are up 12 per cent on last year, says David Barrett, the chain’s buyer for home office furniture.
One of John Lewis’s products for 2015 is a workstation unit called Stage, made by Bisley. “A lot of office products don’t readily transfer into the home environment,” says Bisley marketing director Richard Blackwell. “They look too corporate and they are also too big.”
When staff come into the office, it is to brainstorm, solve problems and generate ideas – all activities that are easier in proximity with colleagues.
Workplace designers believe that these staff, as well as those tied to a desk, enjoy an office with a homely feel. Younger staff in particular are turned off by conventionally corporate environments, they say. Hassell employs hotel and residential designers on its office projects. “We try to design workplaces so they feel more domestic, not cold corporate environments,” says Ms Roocke.
This has led to “crossover” products: furniture that would not look out of place at home or in an office, such as PearsonLloyd’s Healey Lounge chair. Designer Tom Lloyd says: “The office used to be very mechanical and grey, but now there’s a much softer side of the workplace. You can sell the same thing into the office and home environment.”
This crossover has worked in reverse for Denmark’s Soft Line. It started out selling to consumers but now “40 per cent of our sales are to the office and hospitality sectors, whereas three years ago it was zero”, says export manager Christian Skovhus. “We are getting more and more interest from offices because people are trying to mimic the home in the workplace.”
Cross-over product: Healey Lounge chair by PearsonLloyd for Walter Knoll
This armchair has the deluxe leather finish of a 1960s classic car; hence its name, in a nod to the Austin Healey. “You need an environment that allows you to create creativity,” says Markus Benz, chief executive of Walter Knoll. He believes that being able to sit in a relaxed and informal way in the Healey, with a laptop or tablet perched on its broad sliding armrests, will contribute to creativity. Its domestic aesthetic, Mr Benz says, makes it suitable for the office and the home.

Quick meetings: Ballo stool by Don Chadwick for Humanscale
This mobile stool is designed for handy flexibility during short bursts of activity such as brainstorming sessions. Weighing 6.8kg and with integrated handholds, it can easily be moved around for impromptu meetings. A counterweight in its base means it remains upright. Chris Gibson, global director of retail at Humanscale, says: “Ballo is a fun product”, designed to supplement rather than replace the standard office task chair.
Diminished distractions: Hexa by Przemysław ‘Mac’ Stopa for Nowy Styl

“We have to increase acoustic elements on furniture because no one wants to pay for acoustics on the floor and ceiling,” says Leszek Romanowski, workplace strategy leader at Nowy Styl Group. Its hexagonal form is upholstered in colourful felt and its high back makes it a good “phone booth”. Hexa is modular and can be configured for small meetings or individual quiet time, as a two-person booth or a single seater.

Reinventing the desk: Hack by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra
Talented young tech recruits can be lured into the workplace with furniture, believes Vitra. Mr Grcic noted that people build informal barricades of belongings such as bags and books around themselves at conventional long-bench desking, “so we made an enclosure”. The result is Hack, which comprises a private, height-adjustable work surface, with walls that can be customised. It can be collapsed into a flat box shape when not in use.