The flex office: when flexibility extends to the workplace
Many people see the flex office as yet another trend straight out of the start-up ecosystem.
But it's a way of organising space that fits in perfectly 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 way of organising work attracting more and more companies used 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 organising workplaces, and therefore 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 them best within the company, depending on the task they have to perform.
But the concept of the flex office goes further than this, otherwise we would simply be talking about desk sharing. It also encompasses professional uses such as telecommuting or working on the client's premises. Working for a company that advocates a flexible 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
Saving money
The occupancy rate for a dedicated office is 60%. And every square metre costs money.
Welcome to the Jungle
The fact is that, between the time spent in meetings, travelling and teleworking, offices are left 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 a year.
The flex office makes it possible to optimise workspaces, and therefore reduce the size of premises in order to make substantial savings. As an added bonus, it makes for a calmer 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. They can exchange ideas face-to-face rather than by email.
What are the consequences?
Such practices reinforce agility,innovation and new working methods such as project mode.
Increased performance
The flex office tends to maximise performance by creating spaces that are truly adapted to each employee's activity.
For example, many companies create areas designed to boost creativity, such as brainstorming rooms. Conversely, teleworking gives employees a place where they can concentrate fully.
Les Dunes, Société Générale's flex office, offers the 9,000 or so employees who work there a wide range of facilities:
CoWork.io
Quality of life at work
There are a number of reasons why the flex office is a great way to improve well-being at work:
- development of teleworking: employees find it easier to reconcile their private and professional lives, and reduce their travel time (and therefore their stress).
- more horizontal organisation: the flexible office encourages more horizontal organisation (to the detriment of vertical hierarchical structures), which encourages responsibility and creativity.
- less routine at work: the flex office breaks the routine at work, which is a source of fatigue, particularly for the younger generations.
- user-friendly workspaces: flex office organisation often goes hand in hand with modern, well-designed premises equipped with cutting-edge technology.
The disadvantages of flex office
Depersonalisation of the workspace
68% of French people say they are against the flex office.
Opinion Way
This resistance to change is partly due to the fact that many employees feel uneasy about the depersonalisation of the workspace.
Indeed, with the flex office, it becomes complicated to appropriate one's "territory", for example by putting photos of loved ones on one's workstation.
Organisational problems and new rules of life
New organisational problems are emerging with the flex office.
Some employees, for example, are forcing themselves to arrive at the office earlier in the morning in order to get the "best seats". This has even led to tensions in some companies.
On the other hand, working in a coworking space means having to think ahead, particularly when it comes to reserving rooms for team activities.
In any case, flex office does not mean lack of organisation.
Management and flex office
Finally, it should be noted that managers sometimes find it difficult to reconcile their practices with the flex office.
And with good reason: the flex office implies greater trust, but also an ability to maintain social links and the corporate culture in an organisation 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 applying the flex office model?
Prepare the company...
To begin with, it is essential to prepare well in advance for the arrival of the 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, which means that employees can't settle in and work properly!
... and employees
As we have seen, many employees are reluctant to change their 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.
Finally, it's worth noting that if you want to get your staff on board with the new organisation, managers need to set an example... by saying "goodbye" to their personal offices.
Design your premises intelligently
Having premises that are perfectly suited to the flex office is obviously one of the fundamental prerequisites. You need to design the workspaces according to 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 does not mean that you can disturb your neighbour when they need concentration and silence.
- Think of phone boxes, areas set aside for making telephone calls without taking up an entire meeting room.
- Provide each employee with a locker in which they can store their 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 equipment
Every employee should have their own laptop, or even a business mobile phone, that is fully functional and adapted to their needs.
What's more, the company must have the best possible WiFi connection anywhere on its premises.
Choose the right software
When you talk about a flex office, you also talk about software solutions tailored to this type of organisation.
Among the different types of tools available are :
🛠️ Instant messaging software: with employees constantly changing workspaces and those working remotely, it can be complicated to meet up for face-to-face discussions. The choice of instant messaging software is therefore essential.
🛠️ Video conferencing software: hold meetings whenever you want, even if the participants are not physically present.
🛠️ Project management or task management software: this improves the coordination and organisation of staff working on the same project. So everyone knows what they need to do when they start work in the morning, without having to talk directly to their colleagues.
🛠️ Collaborative platforms: these are specifically developed to facilitate teamwork, even in a flex office or full remote. Document sharing, project management, shared calendars, internal messaging... these are just some of the features you will 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 organisation 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 have 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