Space optimization: what is the minimum office space?

Expert

A sign of change, the optimization of tertiary buildings is no longer measured in square meters per post but per subscriber. The most ambitious aim for up to 3.5 m² / subscriber. Counterintuitively, the surface per workstation tends to increase through the multiplication of places for collaboration and socialization. Optimization is encouraged by the “Smart Workplace” which makes it possible to measure the occupation of spaces in real time and then to transform them to respond as precisely as possible to uses. With remote work, the multiplicity of workplaces is increasing. This had the effect of making job sharing acceptable to many and lowering the baseline job sharing rate from 0.8 to 0.6. The sharing of space is more accepted because it is based on the absence of the site and not on mobility within the site.

The limit of the optimization exercise is the management of peaks and troughs of presence which are accentuated with remote work. This fluctuation raises questions for operators. Some wonder if they would not be better off closing their sites on Fridays. To which inanciers respond: “What if we weren’t all absent at the same time? ". This issue of smoothing presence is not entirely new. In recent years, digital technology has been called upon to streamline the occupation of workspaces. In addition to the usual features (real-time occupancy tracking, meeting room reservations, guidance, etc.), it is now possible to register (alone, in a team, in a project) and to know who is coming. The only catch is when the limit is reached and not everyone can register as desired. Few companies have already deployed such work environments. Those who have thought about it quickly come to the conclusion that beyond the tool, a real managerial policy must be put in place.

On what bases to build it? The first question is that of optimizing the arrival at the office. What would be the most important reason for the employee, the manager and the organization? These three families of points of view lead to different hierarchies. From the employee's point of view, the arrival should be free, for personal convenience in the broad sense of the term: this day, I want to telecommute despite such an important meeting because I am being delivered my (experienced) dryer, this day -there I want to come back because I will be able to see a colleague friend (also lived), etc. The manager meanwhile is struggling to regroup his team. He would like to bring it together and in many cases he realizes that the weekly meeting "as before" works less and less well. Finally, the organization suffers from a lack of cohesion, commitment, overall vision or transversality. Many companies are trying to cure this evil through "reconnection" seminars. In this disintegration of the collective, even corridor radio took a hit: “With telework, there is no more gossip. Before, we were rather creative. There were always some juicy stories between two colleagues. Now nothing. We would almost be bored."

Faced with this observation, the literature on management identifies three good reasons to come to the office. The first is to help employees meet new people and expand their professional network within the company. This will not only provide development opportunities for corridor radio but will also reinforce the overall vision of the company by employees. The second good reason to come to the office would be to help employees maintain their professional network. This will give substance to the gossip while facilitating group cohesion and exchanges between peers. The third good reason would be to create and maintain relationships of trust within the working groups. Not only is it easier to confide in those who have trusted them, but it also allows better communication and therefore in particular to quickly correct errors.

These three good reasons to come to the office can require quite surprising measures at first glance. How to help people meet new people? Beyond having them do activities together, sit them together (on the same work table). Numerous studies show that two strangers are much more likely to talk to each other if they sit directly next to each other all day, much more than if they pass each other at the coffee machine. or do yoga together.

Playing off this probability of interaction requires that when teams return, they don't sit (lock in) together. On the contrary. Responding to the second good reason to come can be done without being quite so drastic. For example, it is possible to work on the social link through the space strategy by creating centers of gravity. These centers of gravity are places that attract (coffee machine, meeting room, etc.). It is therefore necessary to place them precisely in the space in order to allow two people who know each other to meet.

Finally, it is necessary to create and maintain relationships of trust within the working groups. Collocation greatly helps with this. To be really effective, it must be quite long and continuous. Then, regular booster shots should be done to maintain the climate of trust. These should be done more at key moments in projects or in the organization of work.

Beyond digital tools and adapted spaces, the optimization of work environments is above all managerial. It is the establishment of "good reasons to come to the office" to meet the expectations and challenges of each stakeholder. However, while it is theoretically possible to drastically reduce the number of square meters per occupant, let’s not forget that real estate expenditure only represents for many tertiary companies around a tenth of their investment in people. By reducing surface costs too much without optimizing the gain in visits, the savings in surface area could cause other costs to explode. Moreover, optimization can lead to measures that are counter-intuitive and sometimes complicated to explain. The example of companies without offices have clearly understood the interest of these measures. They invest heavily in their culture and its maintenance and invest money, time and resources in it.

Release date: March 2022