Office Space Is Dead

The following post is the first of a short series of posts that will explore an increasingly common topic (in certain circles, anyway): Is office space dead? We will present this in a point / counter-point format, first focusing on why office space is dead.
I was speaking with a friend and colleague of mine, [...]

The following post is the first of a short series of posts that will explore an increasingly common topic (in certain circles, anyway): Is office space dead? We will present this in a point / counter-point format, first focusing on why office space is dead.

I was speaking with a friend and colleague of mine, Scott Annan, Founder and CEO of Mercury Grove, who most passionately contends that the last rites have in fact been read for our dear friend office space. As a backgrounder to this perspective, Annan spent years working for a Fortune 500 company in a traditional office environment, and before that working for small companies in a variety of office settings. Several years ago, he left the large corporate world to start his own company. The three principals of his company are in different cities and his development team is spread across the globe. They are truly a virtual company.

What is the Ideal Office Space?

The main question offered by Annan, and many others on the topic is: If the construct of office space did not exist, and we were to define the ideal scenario for workers (as opposed to the ideal scenarios for corporations) would we create office space as it currently exists? Would we create large centralized buildings with cubicles, fluorescent lighting, sterile meeting rooms and break areas with plastic chairs, and vending machines with Yoo-hoo, Little Debbies and Coca-cola? The answer would probably be no.

Regarding the issue of large centralized buildings, the average worker has a commute time of about an hour a day… about 5 hours per week. Imagine the personal and business productivity that could be gained if that time were cut in half or one-third. What could you do with 5 more hours per week? Or think about it this way – you spend 3 times more of your hours commuting than you do on paid vacation (250 hours versus 80 hours).

Another point Annan makes that is shared by others, and is contradictory to the industry-touted benefit of having an office at an executive suite: “you don’t need to look professional. In fact, using these facilities makes you look like you’re trying to be bigger than you are. In today’s world, marketing and business is all about authenticity, and small and connected is positive, not something to be ashamed of.”

In fact, there is a growing movement that validates his sentiments, and it’s part of a post-Enron movement. Both consumers and workers are disillusioned by the marketing and PR machines from corporations whose public communications are spin, thinly veiled marketing ploys or outright lies. And at the extreme these types of communications can ruin people’s lives (do I need to give examples?). Or at their most innocuous, the corporate spin may just sell you more stuff than you really need.

So, back to Annan’s original point. More and more people are seeking authenticity, and don’t need the “smoke and mirrors” of an executive suite, which usually offers clients the image of a formal and finely appointed facility and a large staff administrative staff to go with it. In Annan’s words, trying “to look professional by leasing serviced office space can seem like a cheap imitation.”

FutureOffices’ Take on “Office Space is Dead”

We actually believe Annan is building a case for the executive suite, not tearing down the executive suite.

First, at FutureOffices, we believe there are businesses for whom the smoke and mirrors of “looking bigger” is still salient, and will be for some time to come. Second, we also believe that executive suites should not be marketing the idea of “image” as strongly as they are (more about that soon on the Office Suites Marketing website); rather, the focus should be on the idea of “the new way to work”, a new way to manage your real estate portfolio, a new way to “outsource” your real estate. Really, it’s a “Future Office” so to speak.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 10:53 am and is filed under Future Offices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.