The world of work has changed radically following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a significant shift in the way people work and interact. Today, both employees and business owners appreciate the concept and practice of remote work. This has been brought to the fore considering the challenges around managing office spaces amidst the pandemic. Current trends and our study show the movement from concrete office and space management practices to the creation of smarter and borderless workplaces. Rob Taiwo, the Managing Director of pcl. would always say “work is what we do, and not where we go.” Based on this ideology, pcl. is driving the Borderless Workplace revolution.

 

The Borderless Workplace concept is the reimagination and redesigning of office spaces to align with corporate culture and effectiveness. The idea impacts both our psychological and physical ways of working. From engaging clients across different sectors and our strategic collaboration with our partner, we have discovered that one of the most potent ways to increase employee engagement and productivity is enabling a collaborative workplace culture. This further corroborates the statistics, which shows that promoting employee wellbeing will always improve the overall output and quality of work of an organisation.

 

While employers cannot rule out employee preference for the reimagined ways of working remotely, the importance of office spaces remains vital. Over the years, office spaces have promoted the cohesiveness of teams, guarded against workplace accidents and injuries, and supported smooth business operations. Office space designs benefitted from investments intended to drive a great experience at work. However, in the new normal, the emphasis is now on a blended approach. Businesses are rethinking their ways of working across the workspace, people, and processes. They are seeking a model that combines the usefulness of both remote and office work – a Borderless Workspace.

 

Again, work is what we do, and not where we go. This is the mindset that should drive how office spaces should be reimagined and reinvented. Work has migrated beyond the conventional boundaries of time and space into the broader environments. Organisations should start to think of creating a highly mobile, highly connected, and comfortable workspace that blends the real and virtual worlds. To do this, key components that should be considered, amongst others are:

 

  • Government-set guidelines
  • Common area capacity threshold setting
  • Worksite and furniture configuration
  • Technology
  • Corporate Culture
  • Budget
  • Execution ability

 

Research has continued to support the concept of a borderless workplace, using a combination of virtual and real worlds in the design of offices and ways of working.  Recent research involving 200 executives, showed that 68% of respondents think their teams will work from home 2-3 times every week. Their offices will be designed as activity-based destinations that offer the unique benefit of collaboration. More benefits of a borderless workplace include:

 

  • Employee satisfaction & Talent retention: Workplace flexibility, agility, and employee engagement have proven to be essential to increasing worker satisfaction, with a corresponding increase in employee retention. In a 2017 survey, it was suggested that flexible work was more important than a competitive salary in driving talent retention.
  • Efficiency & Productivity: Influential workplace collaborative cultures will improve the overall employee output and quality of work within your organisation.
  • Cost optimisation & Increased revenue: Creating a borderless workplace within your firm will help cut down on redundant expenses and increase your bottom-line by channelling resources into new potential opportunities.
  • Innovation and Scalability: Developing a fulfilling work culture within your organisation promotes innovation and facilitates scalability.
  • Employee Well-being: Ensure employees’ psychological well-being at your office and other remote workplace locations.

 

With over 28 years of engaging clients across sectors both locally and globally, pcl. has developed a framework that allows us to help you effectively set up a borderless workplace. This framework enables work to continue virtually, while ensuring a superior space design, by incorporating technology and supporting governance to foster collaborative group working and drive business objectives.

 

You can contact us by sending an email to people@phillipsconsulting.net

 

Written by:

Kelvin Chiazor

Consultant

Joshua Ademuwagun

Managing Consultant

Reference:

1.https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive