Flexibility
The basic work habit is changing. We are moving towards a much more flexible model where the boundaries between work and non-work time are being eroded. One of the main drivers is that a lot more work is now taking place outside the office. Whether it is on the tube or the bus, in the park or at a gig, everybody is working all the time and they’re communicating continuously. Another is that the make-up of the workforce is evolving. Younger people work at a faster pace than older people and they are better at using new technologies. Managers and staff must adapt to the new working practices resulting from these kinds of shifts and so must the buildings that accommodate today's workforce.
Why the office still matters
Two decades ago, business gurus said that new communication technology would mean that people would start working from home instead of the office. What has actually happened is that people are working from home and from the office. The concept of the home and the office being different places is disappearing; the two are merging and becoming the same environment.
One of the main reasons that the office has not disappeared is that the business of the modern world relies on interactivity; it depends on discussions of the moment. There’s a creative interaction between people that you do not get if you are sitting at home in the garden with your computer.
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