Modern serviced offices arranged according to the concept of activity-based working – what does it involve?

Modern serviced offices are increasingly based on the concept of activity-based working, which is changing the way office space is organized. This makes offices more functional, which translates into higher productivity and improved employee well-being. Activity-based working not only facilitates the performance of daily tasks, but also allows companies to optimize costs through more efficient space management.

What is activity-based working?

Activity-based working is a trend that is likely to become increasingly widespread in the near future and may even become dominant. Modern office designs will move towards meeting the requirements of this concept.

Just a few years ago, any office job meant having to show up at your desk at specific times (sometimes flexible) and get to work. The mobility revolution, which we owe to the internet, has changed this situation to some extent. The real revolution in this regard was triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown. A large part of office work began to be done remotely. In fact, only the most conservative employers required their employees to be present in the office. Incidentally, in Poland, these were mainly state employers.

Liberalizing the work model may prove necessary, as this is what potential employees demand. Millennials and Generation Z, who are entering the labor market, expect to be able to work in different locations. Enabling them to do so often contributes to increased productivity.

Activity-based workplace – history

The origins of activity-based working can be traced back to the late 1970s. The first known analysis office work modes based on activity was conducted by American architect Robert Luchetti. He co-created the now widely accepted concept of the office as a series of different activities and the resulting different nature of parts of the office. The concept of activity-based working initially took hold in countries such as Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden. 

In the Netherlands, the concept of activity-based working was popularized by Erik Veldhoen. He implemented the idea in the office of Interpolis, one of the largest insurance companies in the country in the 1990s. The office was redesigned according to the new concept, and managers were encouraged to give employees complete autonomy in choosing their working hours and place of work. This permeated the company culture, where working hours ceased to matter and only the results of work began to count. 

Modern office – interior design

What should be done to ensure that the layout of a modern office meets the requirements of activity-based working? First of all, the space must be well designed for various office activities. There must be regular desks with chairs and offices for quiet work. There should be places for talking on the phone (preferably booths), places for meetings with colleagues, for receiving visitors, and if the boss wants to meet with the team during lunch, there should be a place for that too. It is also worth considering setting up more unusual activity areas, such as anger rooms, a gym, or a conservatory.

It is important that individual areas of activity are designed in such a way that their function is clear. When an employee enters a given space, they should intuitively know what it is used for. 

An important element of introducing activity-based working is full acceptance of the new working model by company management. Employees must be confident that they will be judged solely on their results and that no questions will be asked about why they spent the whole day in the cafeteria. 

Activity-based workplace and savings

Designing a modern office and implementing a liberal approach to working hours and place of work can bring savings. First of all, there is no need for so many traditional workplaces. Not every employee needs to have their own desk. They come in and sit wherever there is a free space. At the same time, some people work from home, from the garden, or from the beach, and some from the cafeteria. When a new employee joins the company, there is no need to find a desk for them. They can sit at any of the workstations.

The need to clean up your desk after a day's work may seem burdensome, but if you don't let a month's worth of clutter accumulate there, it's not so bad. 

It seems that activity-based working is the future of offices.