(in)flexible working?
Discussion
my company is looking to save costs by relocating to a single floor of the shared building where we currently occupy 2. The proposal is to try to accomodate the workforce through dropping some of the services (canteen likely to be the first to go, but that's not a big issue as we are city centre and there are plenty of places to get food from). I'm also worried about the loss of the showers, cycling in part of the way each day over summer means that I need a shower in order not to make my workmates environment completely unpleasant!
The big idea being touted is "flexible working" - we won't have allocated desks, so it's first come first served for space to work in, each staff member will have a locker for their stuff, and laptop if they choose not to take them home. Homeworking is actively encouraged.
I have in the past occasionally worked from home, but I actually find it easier to work in the office. 4 kids coming in soon after 3pm gets quite annoying, for my last couple of working hours in the day. I do tend to get into the office at around 0835, depending on the so called "service" that Northern Rail choose to offer on any given day, which means I am usually one of the earlier cohort to arrive, so getting a desk each day shouldn't be an issue.
The question really is what we can do in the unlikely circumstance that all desks are occupied on any given day? If that happens, and the later arrivers are unable to find somewhere to sit, are they forced to go home? For me, it would be another hour or so of travelling to get back home before I could start my working day, so wouldn't be done lightly!
Does anyone have any experience of working in this kind of environment? My expectation is that, within a very short time, people will essentially become fixtures at certain desks - is this common? With allocation of desks being on an arrival basis, I can see this being an issue for teams that work together, as the option for the ad-hoc kick back and chat about arising issues may be lost - is this common?
Of course my alternative is to get myself into gear to divide the second living room into the office (aka man cave) that I have planned to build for ages, as that would be firmly shut off from children, but as that will involve money and time that I don't really want to spare at the moment, I'm trying to understand the implications.
The big idea being touted is "flexible working" - we won't have allocated desks, so it's first come first served for space to work in, each staff member will have a locker for their stuff, and laptop if they choose not to take them home. Homeworking is actively encouraged.
I have in the past occasionally worked from home, but I actually find it easier to work in the office. 4 kids coming in soon after 3pm gets quite annoying, for my last couple of working hours in the day. I do tend to get into the office at around 0835, depending on the so called "service" that Northern Rail choose to offer on any given day, which means I am usually one of the earlier cohort to arrive, so getting a desk each day shouldn't be an issue.
The question really is what we can do in the unlikely circumstance that all desks are occupied on any given day? If that happens, and the later arrivers are unable to find somewhere to sit, are they forced to go home? For me, it would be another hour or so of travelling to get back home before I could start my working day, so wouldn't be done lightly!
Does anyone have any experience of working in this kind of environment? My expectation is that, within a very short time, people will essentially become fixtures at certain desks - is this common? With allocation of desks being on an arrival basis, I can see this being an issue for teams that work together, as the option for the ad-hoc kick back and chat about arising issues may be lost - is this common?
Of course my alternative is to get myself into gear to divide the second living room into the office (aka man cave) that I have planned to build for ages, as that would be firmly shut off from children, but as that will involve money and time that I don't really want to spare at the moment, I'm trying to understand the implications.
aclivity said:
The question really is what we can do in the unlikely circumstance that all desks are occupied on any given day?
I suspect you'll never experience that.Your company is possibly doing the right thing, but I suspect from your worried comments, not in the best way.
The idea that all employees need to traipse across the country to a single building to do some work for their company and then traipse back again at the end of the day with millions of others who also cannot afford to live near their buildings of work is 'so yesterday'. Many companies have adopted flexible working, and many more are set to follow. What most fail to do sadly, is introduce this as part of a strategy for growth, with a plan, and with full involvement of the employees (it takes time and skill, hence many don't do it! (I can elaborate for those thinking of heading in this direction, as this is the sort of advice I can offer organisations considering this approach)).
In your case, it seems like a knee-jerk cost reduction exercise, with little thought on impact of either employees or their outputs. I would be worried; if this strategy produces worse results than it currently enjoys, then the organisation may spiral in to decline. I'm of course generalising with little information, but you get my drift. Good luck!
I've now been working in flexible office space for the last 2 years, and it's been a lot less problematic than we expected.
Like you, when the change was announced we were all very nervous about how it would all work - especially when "occupation rates" of desks were being calculated etc. Here we are not (yet) encouraged to work from home as under Dutch law this would required my employer to carry out an assessment of each person's work space at home to ensure it meets the necessary ergonomic requirements etc.
The reality of working in open office space is generally very positive (and this is from some one who was more than healthily sceptical when it was brought in). There are some down sides - it takes 5 minutes or so to set up every morning, and pack up again every evening. There are some people who have "reserved" their own desks, but these are mainly team assistants, so it makes sense to know where to find them. Equally, some departments such as IT and Finance sit in fixed locations due to proximity to servers/filing cabinets etc.
On the positive side I can now choose to sit where I need to according to the work I'm doing - if it's systems related, I go and sit near IT, whereas when I'm focussing on the sales team, I sit with them. if I fancy a change, I can choose to go and sit somewhere completely different. Equally if I want to concentrate on spreadsheets where I particularly need to concentrate, I can find somewhere quiet to get on with it.
There are a few things that are key to a successful implementation as far as I can see - mainly relating to sufficient meeting rooms of different sizes. As an example, we have small rooms for 1, maybe 2 people at a squeeze, where people can go to take phone calls, or focus on a specific task, along with smaller meeting rooms for 2-3 people, as well as regular rooms for 8-10 people.
There is no doubt that it is a big change, and much depends on the way that your company implements it, but it is highly possible for this kind of change to be successful, and I can honestly say that working in a newly renovated open office environment is probably the best office space I've worked in 10 years
Like you, when the change was announced we were all very nervous about how it would all work - especially when "occupation rates" of desks were being calculated etc. Here we are not (yet) encouraged to work from home as under Dutch law this would required my employer to carry out an assessment of each person's work space at home to ensure it meets the necessary ergonomic requirements etc.
The reality of working in open office space is generally very positive (and this is from some one who was more than healthily sceptical when it was brought in). There are some down sides - it takes 5 minutes or so to set up every morning, and pack up again every evening. There are some people who have "reserved" their own desks, but these are mainly team assistants, so it makes sense to know where to find them. Equally, some departments such as IT and Finance sit in fixed locations due to proximity to servers/filing cabinets etc.
On the positive side I can now choose to sit where I need to according to the work I'm doing - if it's systems related, I go and sit near IT, whereas when I'm focussing on the sales team, I sit with them. if I fancy a change, I can choose to go and sit somewhere completely different. Equally if I want to concentrate on spreadsheets where I particularly need to concentrate, I can find somewhere quiet to get on with it.
There are a few things that are key to a successful implementation as far as I can see - mainly relating to sufficient meeting rooms of different sizes. As an example, we have small rooms for 1, maybe 2 people at a squeeze, where people can go to take phone calls, or focus on a specific task, along with smaller meeting rooms for 2-3 people, as well as regular rooms for 8-10 people.
There is no doubt that it is a big change, and much depends on the way that your company implements it, but it is highly possible for this kind of change to be successful, and I can honestly say that working in a newly renovated open office environment is probably the best office space I've worked in 10 years
We work flexibly.
Working at home is a big plus for me, and if I had the choice between a fixed desk and no home working I would take flexible working.
But ti has its problem, my main oen is hygiene on desks and desks not being set up for you ergonomically - see my thread - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Some days I have to spend 10-15 minutes clearing filth off the desk/keyboard and adjusting the monitor height/seat etc before I actually start any work. With budget cuts we rarely get the wipes that you use to clean equipment.
On the issue of desks, we rarely hit maximum numbers, if ever.
The early birds always take the same desks. And you do mill around a lot more and sit near different people all the time.
Maybe the difference in our palce is that we are still split into groups, so chances are the peopel you will sit near will be from your own group/team.
Working at home is a big plus for me, and if I had the choice between a fixed desk and no home working I would take flexible working.
But ti has its problem, my main oen is hygiene on desks and desks not being set up for you ergonomically - see my thread - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Some days I have to spend 10-15 minutes clearing filth off the desk/keyboard and adjusting the monitor height/seat etc before I actually start any work. With budget cuts we rarely get the wipes that you use to clean equipment.
On the issue of desks, we rarely hit maximum numbers, if ever.
The early birds always take the same desks. And you do mill around a lot more and sit near different people all the time.
Maybe the difference in our palce is that we are still split into groups, so chances are the peopel you will sit near will be from your own group/team.
I've worked flexibly for so long now sitting at a desk in an office would be alien to me. The nature of the business is that we are spread over the whole country and often in customer sites as well. I do have an office I can shut against the kids though.
You do need to have the tools to do the job though. I consider webchat and soft-phone pretty critical, desktop sharing and video conference from the desktop are secondary but useful.
You do need to have the tools to do the job though. I consider webchat and soft-phone pretty critical, desktop sharing and video conference from the desktop are secondary but useful.
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