Flex office: when flexibility extends to the workspace
Flex office... many people see it as yet another trend straight out of the start-up ecosystem.
Yet it's a way of organizing space that's perfectly in tune with changes in the world of work, where the rise of digital technology has encouraged professional nomadism.
But what is the flex office? And above all, why is this new organization of work attracting more and more companies accustomed to the classic open space?
All the answers to your questions in this article, plus a few prerequisites to know if you want to take the flex office plunge.
Definition of flex-office
Flex-office is a new way of arranging workspaces and, consequently, new ways of working.
With flex-office, the individual office is a thing of the past: each employee, equipped with his or her own equipment (computer, tablet, smartphone), takes up the office or workspace that suits him or her best within the company, depending on the task at hand.
But the notion of flex office goes further than this, otherwise we'd simply be talking about desk sharing. It also encompasses professional uses such as telecommuting or working on the customer's premises. Working for a company that advocates the flex office also means being able to work from home, from a café, from a coworking or corpoworking space , and so on.
Video flex office, definition :
Advantages and disadvantages of the flex office environment
Why flex office? The advantages
Save money
The occupancy rate for a dedicated office is 60%. And every square meter costs money.
Welcome to the Jungle
Today's reality is that, between the time spent in meetings, travelling and telecommuting, offices remain vacant for a large part of the time. And yet, according to Hub-Grade, the cost of a workstation varies between 12,000 and 14,000 euros per year.
The flex office makes it possible to optimize workspaces, and therefore reduce the size of premises to achieve substantial savings. As an added bonus, it makes for a more serene return to the office when social distancing becomes necessary.
Collaborative working and agility
The flex office encourages collaborative working: it breaks down silos and makes it easier for teams to meet. This means they can exchange ideas face-to-face, rather than systematically by email.
The result?
Such practices reinforce agility,innovation and new working methods such as project mode.
Increased performance
The flex office tends to maximize performance thanks to the creation of spaces truly adapted to each employee's activity.
For example, many companies create areas designed to boost creativity, such as brainstorming rooms. Conversely, thanks to telecommuting, employees have a place where they can concentrate to the maximum.
Les Dunes, Société Générale's flex office, offers its 9,000 or so employees a wide range of working arrangements:
© CoWork.io
Quality of life at work
There are several reasons why the flex office has proved to be a key factor in improving well-being at work:
- development of telecommuting: employees find it easier to reconcile their private and professional lives, and reduce their commuting time (and hence stress).
- more horizontal organization: the flexible office encourages more horizontal organization (to the detriment of vertical hierarchical structures), which favors empowerment and creativity.
- less routine at work: the flex office breaks the routine at work, a source of fatigue, particularly for new generations.
- user-friendly workspaces: flex office organization often goes hand in hand with modern, well-designed premises equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
The disadvantages of flex office
Depersonalization of the workspace
68% of French people are against the flex office.
Opinion Way
This resistance to change is partly due to the fact that many employees feel uneasy about the depersonalization of their workspace.
Indeed, with the flex office, it becomes complicated to appropriate one's "territory", by putting photos of loved ones on one's workstation, for example.
Organizational problems and new rules of life
New organizational problems are emerging with the flex office.
Some employees, for example, force themselves to arrive at the office earlier in the morning in order to take up the "best seats". This has even led to tensions in some companies.
On the other hand, working in a coworking space requires foresight, particularly when it comes to reserving rooms for team activities.
In any case, flex office does not mean lack of organization.
Management and flex office
Finally, it's worth noting that managerial spheres sometimes find it difficult to reconcile their practices with flex office.
And for good reason: the flex office implies greater trust, but also an ability to maintain social ties and corporate culture in an organization where they could be undermined.
Relaxation area in the Adidas flex office in the 9th arrondissement of Paris:
© L'Express Entreprise
What are the prerequisites for implementing the flex office model?
Prepare the company...
To begin with, it's essential to prepare well in advance for the arrival of flex office in the company. This means considering all possible scenarios, such as future recruitment.
In this way, you can avoid a number of common problems... such as a shortage of office space, making it impossible for employees to settle in and work properly!
... and employees
As we've seen, many employees are reluctant to change their working habits.
That's why you need to take the time to explain the benefits of the flex office to your teams, but also to welcome their feedback on possible areas for improvement.
Last but not least, if you want to get your staff on board with the new organization, it's up to management to set an example... by saying "goodbye" to their personal offices.
Intelligent office design
Having premises that are perfectly suited to flex office working is obviously a fundamental prerequisite. You need to think about workspaces in terms of the different needs of your employees.
Here are a few examples of good practice:
- Provide enough meeting rooms (with a reservation system), because flex office doesn't mean you can disturb your neighbor when he needs concentration and silence.
- Think of phone boxes, spaces designed for making phone calls without taking up an entire meeting room.
- Provide each employee with a locker in which to store his or her personal belongings at the end of the day.
- Choose inspiring decoration and design, as well as comfortable furniture. The aim is to avoid the pitfall of an impersonal space: the flex office must maintain the link with the corporate culture!
Opt for optimum IT installation
Every employee should have his or her own laptop, or even a business cell phone, perfectly functional and adapted to his or her needs.
What's more, the company must have an optimal Wifi connection, anywhere on the premises.
Choose the right software
Flex office means software solutions adapted to this type of organization.
Among the different types of tools available, let's mention :
🛠️ Instant messaging software: with employees constantly moving between different workspaces, and those working remotely, it's sometimes difficult to meet up for face-to-face discussions. This is where instant messaging software comes in.
🛠️ Video conferencing software: hold meetings whenever you like, even if the participants are not physically present.
🛠️ Project management software or task management software: these enhance the coordination and organization of employees working on the same project. So everyone knows what they have to do when they start work in the morning, without having to talk directly to their colleagues.
🛠️ Collaborative platforms: these are specifically designed to facilitate teamwork, even in flex office or full remote working. Document sharing, project management, shared calendars, internal messaging... are just some of the features you'll find on these collaborative platforms.
You now have all the keys you need to understand the flex office and, why not, implement it within your company.
However, it has to be said that changes in work organization are not about to stop there. Recent events linked to the Coronavirus, for example, have called into question the very principle of company offices, and led us to rethink models that have been established for years.
Will we all be teleworking tomorrow? Only time will tell...
Article translated from French