Design_v1_3_THE_FUTURE_OF_WORKING_IT'S_YOUR_CHOICE_FINAL

THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE  IT’S YOUR CHOICE PAPER PRODUCED BY “RANSEUR CONSULTING\" AND \"ACEPLACE\" FEB 2021

THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE IT’S YOUR CHOICE

TABLE OF CONTENT 01 03 Foreword 03 04 How did it all start - have we gone full circle? 05 The evolution of the office 07 Flexible office spaces 08 An unplanned experiment on staff productivity 09 and engagement? A future based on choice? 10 Place of Choice A sustainable solution? What’s next? THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE IT’S YOUR CHOICE

Foreword We have come full circle and ended up back to extremely isolated working practices which are most likely unsustainable given the importance of It is perhaps not surprising that leading organisations around the world are now socialisation for productivity and engagement - so where to from here? stating that working from home should be the modus operandi. Even traditional businesses are offering flexible working with one or two days at home or splitting the workforce into batches that come into the office . COVID19 very quickly and abruptly became a catalyst for change. Most of us were challenged in terms of our behavior and lifestyle and the result is that we are on the brink of breaking our old habits for good - particularly with regards to work environments. These changes are driving a re-evaluation of the need for physical permanent office spaces. But despite this, the traditional office provided us with experiences that were never fully evaluated and we must be careful not to lose the positives with the negatives. Working from home has undeniable benefits, not least the impact on the environment of so many less commuters, but potentially risks losing collaboration benefits and creating a disconnect between employees who need the social interaction the office offered. Now with restrictions being relaxed, employers and employees alike are beginning to evaluate future working arrangements. THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 1 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

If returning to the traditional 95 office regime is no longer an option, the questions employers and employees need to consider are “is the digital world ready to accommodate all the aspects of the physical office?” and as humans, are we ready to work in physical isolation in the online world?”. If not, what is the alternative? In this paper we explore the future of the workplace and come to our own conclusions and solution about how people and businesses will adapt. Eirini Matsouki Chris Cooper Hani Oueidat aceplace Ranseur Consulting THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 2 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

How did it all start - have we gone full circle? Many centuries ago, offices as we know them now - epitomised by large clusters of desks, busy common areas and various meeting rooms - did not exist. Most people worked at their place of residence or close by; shop owners lived above or behind stores with employees often living with them as well. Other jobs were mobile and therefore did not need a stationary abode - taking wares and services to people who needed them. The evolution of the office However, as businesses gradually grew from family-owned enterprises into larger organisations with more employees, this started to change. In the 18th century communal spaces for workers started to emerge as a trend and in 1726 the first purpose-built office was opened in London, The Admiralty Office, London, which handled the Royal Navy’s paperwork. By the 19th century, it was recognised that individual offices should be provided for those who had to do ‘intellectual work,’ although those who were deemed to do more prosaic work remained in large open areas. At the beginning of the 20th century, a corporate image was very much centered around strength and masculinity and offices were regimented. However, by the 60s, the corporate ideals of command and control were beginning to lose appeal - although it would take many years before it was abandoned altogether In their approach dividers separated desks and created a more enjoyable and relaxed environment for workers, and managers were no longer separated from the rest of the workforce. This slowed slightly in the 1980s, with a renewed focus on increased profitability at the expense of worker’s well- being. THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 3 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

Flexible office spaces During 2020 the COVID19 pandemic hit the world, grounding normal working People were realising that although workplaces were static, workers were practices to a halt. not. Most work that is done in an office setting involves a lot of movement - speaking to other people, moving between departments and even just going Suddenly everyone was working from home in relative to the printer or to the tearoom. In fact, studies show that people only spend around 50% of the time at their dedicated workspace - a colossal waste of isolation - something that has not been the norm since the 16th and 17th space! centuries. Though history does not always predict the future, the history of the office perhaps points to an interesting future. Offices quickly became much more diverse spaces, with lots of areas to work from including the birth of the all important ‘breakout space’. Aligned to the popular thinking on employee welfare and its impact on productivity, offices were suddenly transformed into places that were not only effective working environments but also enjoyable to be in - global leaders such as Google and Facebook boasted all kinds of perks for employees including pool tables, in- house cafes and bars, relaxation spaces with bean bags and much more. People were realising that although workplaces were static, workers were not. Most work that is done in an office setting involves a lot of movement - speaking to other people, moving between departments and even just going to the printer or to the tearoom. In fact, studies show that people only spend around 50% of the time at their dedicated workspace - a colossal waste of space! THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 4 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

An unplanned experiment on staff productivity remote working to have positive impacts on their productivity. Employees and engagement? have declared that are happier, not least due to the absence of long, tedious and stressful commutes. A survey by BCG 1 earlier this year, based on Contrary to what might have been expected, working from home was one part 12,000 professionals, found that despite both the speed of the shift to of the pandemic response that went remarkably smoothly. Most kinds of office remote working and its scale, some 75% of employees said that during the work continued almost as if nothing has changed. first few months of the crisis, they were able to maintain or improve their perceived productivity on individual tasks (such as analysing data, writing presentations, or executing administrative tasks). The concept of remote working is not new, however, adoption prior to 2020 has But why should an even a tiny increase in been relatively slow, with businesses reticent to risk productivity levels by productivity matter? giving employees the freedom to choose how and where they work. The number of companies offering remote work arrangements had tripled between A World Green Building Council report in 2014 found that employee costs, 1996 and 2016 according to a study by SHRM, a trend that exploded in 2020 including salaries, benefits, bonuses typically account for about 90% of a with the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. business’ operating costs and as such employees’ health and happiness has become a hot topic in the HR industry and a major concern for employers. It Forced social isolation has provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to follows that the productivity of staff, or anything that impacts their ability to be assess how remote working really impacts productivity and engagement. Indeed, initial post-COVID studies have shown that many people have found 1 What 12,000 Employees Have to Say About the Future of Remote Work (bcg.com) THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 5 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

productive, should be a major concern for any organisation, and that for most were able to choose how and where to work. The majority of highly employers ‘a healthy, happy workforce is a vital component of a productive, engaged employees (88% feel they have control over their work successful business in the long-term.’ experience, while only 14% of highly disengaged employees feel the same. Aside from better productivity, companies with top quartile engagement also tend to boast higher customer advocacy, greater revenue growth What all these studies and surveys clearly tell us is that employees that are and higher net profit than companies with bottom quartile engagement. allowed to work flexibly and can also make their own choices about where they do a phone call, have a meeting or go to concentrate on an important But what makes for a happy and engaged workforce? Most corporate task, rather than being bound to a desk, feel more empowered and therefore discussions around engagement focus on accepted key drivers such as more engaged and productive. reward and recognition, career growth, well-being and workplace culture but less so on the working environment, including flexibility to work This has interesting, and concerning, implications for the future of working in remotely, even though it has been found to have a significant impact. the post-COVID world where flexible working is more the norm than ever. Data based on a study revealed that employees that were highly BUT! What about Leadership? Mentoring and Empowerment of teams? engaged were also more likely to be satisfied with their workplace environment. The degree to which people were satisfied with their Most work requires collaboration in some respect; it is rare that a professional workplace was also strongly correlated with the degree to which they employee would be able to perform at its best entirely in a silo; so it begs the felt they had control over their work experience – i.e. question - how can remote working meet the social needs of employees to ensure productivity is maintained and engagement levels met? THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 6 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

A future based on choice? Considering all of the above points as well as the increasingly unlikely scenario in which the world goes back to any form of how it was pre-COVID, we have come to the conclusion that the future of work is all about choice. A poll done for this paper (2 found that a business’ way of working -in terms of “Employer of choice”: compounding this is a widespread expectation to be in the office vs ability to work remotely or flexibly - will be a significant factor in choosing a future employer. Four out of five (82% of shift in attitude about working from home or other locations. The COVID19 respondents said that it would be important or very important in making pandemic has proven that remote working is not only possible, but has many decisions about who to work for in the future, with only 5% saying it was not at benefits and as such employees are unlikely to accept a ‘bums on seats’ all important. mentality in the future. Similarly, almost all respondents (98% agreed that the physical environment There is now a sense that working remotely is a ‘right’ particularly in the face and amenities available was important or very important to achieving a of ongoing concerns about the health risks of going back to full capacity in successful outcome from a meeting or individual task. offices. The bottom line - in the future the ability to choose how and where you work will be exponentially more important to employees and employers need to take this into account to remain competitive and attract top talent. 2 Surveys of 150 people by Ranseur Consulting and Aceplace, 2020 THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 7 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

Case study : Careem goes remote-first People may want to work at different places throughout the day depending on who they need to meet and what they need to do. They would seek spaces When Careem announced they would be making remote working their that are comfortable, communal and promote interaction and creativity. In default option, meaning employees could choose to work remotely doing so they will interact with many employees from other businesses. permanently, they followed the likes of several big companies globally to Workforces will mingle and collaboration will boom. make the shift including? Meetings can be held in shared spaces, in public places and while doing other However, they were one of the first in the Middle East, which has activities. The concept of inviting clients into a corporate meeting room to traditionally been less open to the concept of working from home, to go present to them might be long forgotten, left behind in favour of dynamic remote first. collaborations in unique places that suit the purpose and drive innovative outcomes. Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder and CEO of Careem said: “We believe it is the future of work that is good for business and more flexible for The idea of shared working spaces has already gained traction due to the colleagues. Moreover, it is deeply aligned with our cultural values of advent of the gig economy, with more and more people choosing the freedom ownership and trust”. of freelancing and employers leveraging contracting at times of peak demand rather than investing in permanent roles. Careem’s employees have been given the option to work from home full- time however they can still come to the office and work from there if However, the working style of the future where everything is based on they wish to. However the company says only 10% of its employees had individual choices goes beyond shared office spaces, that essentially replicate expressed interest in coming back to the office. the traditional office just in a public setting. Sustainable choices will be at the core of the decision making. Companies will be opting to reduce their carbon Place of Choice footprint from their operations and sharing spaces can often a better chance. Traditional offices will be repurposed as large scale shared workspaces and In the future people will want to work from a previously unused assets, whether office spaces or more unique spaces, will ‘Place of Choice’ which is neither an office be opened up for use by companies for off-site meetings and collaboration. or at home or it could be both - alternatively The assets will be retrofitted in a lean way that will focus on high performing somewhere else. spaces offering reductions in water, energy, waste and passing these savings to the clients rent. This whole cycle will be part of a circular economy initiative where redundant underperforming spaces can be revived due to the smart utilisation. There are significant operational impacts of the Place of Choice future we envisage, not least the herculean task of ensuring all employees are able to work effectively and securely. Much like consumer expectations have been heightened by the convenience and immediacy of e-commerce, workers too want to have the freedom to work anywhere, anytime just as they are able to shop and perform other aspects of their life online when and where it suits them. THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 8 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

A sustainable solution? The aceplace app, recently launched in the UAE by the author of this paper, Chris Cooper and co-founder Mubarak Muaz, hosts a range of spaces to suit One of the big challenges that we will face in the future is the Place of Choice. any purpose including restaurants, gym studios, kids playgrounds, boats and Choice working world is the availability of spaces to fit the purpose of every more. You may find out more at aceplace.com by downloading the app now. meeting, collaboration or brainstorming session. Ranseur Consulting is a group of leading international Not only do we no longer want to work in offices, we no longer want to think, create and innovate in corporate spaces. People will crave variety and new professionals that deliver advisory services in the Construction & Real Estate spaces on a daily basis, and currently there is a gap in the market for sector, our spectrum of Project Management and Client Representation providing these spaces. services assists you in ensuring that your projects are delivered with utmost profitability, flexibility and most importantly, longevity, while promoting aceplace is the solution to this problem, hosting thousands responsible environmental practices. Ranseur Consulting is dedicated to supporting the full project life cycle, from inception, to completion, to of unique spaces that people can rent by the hour or day to suit their needs. handover, embracing sustainability through every step of the process.  In a nutshell, our services include:  Project Management  Design Advisory  BIM Consulting  Cost and Contracts Management  Sustainability and Environmental Consulting Central to the concept of Aceplace is the wellbeing and the social interaction - with colleagues but also with the rest of the working community. Having different organisations and individuals sharing an asset will create networking opportunities and attract talent, and potentially creating self-sustained communities in the assets by providing all the amenities that office workers need. THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 9 IT’S YOUR CHOICE

What’s next? Our Prediction Working from a Place of Choice will have a huge impact on society as we know it, and not without its challenges. Embracing a new culture of working in a Place of Choice will give companies improved agility and flexibility, drive engagement and productivity and will have significant environmental, social and economic benefits. Most importantly, it will give people choice and in doing so, enable innovation and creativity in a way we have not seen before. At a glance, working anytime, anywhere still requires people to ‘commute,’ however peak commuting times will no longer be as extreme with the 95 mentality abandoned. Everyone will commute to different places at different times, so traffic patterns will shift and potentially become more unpredictable. There will be immediate challenges around privacy and IT security with people logging onto other networks and using company software in public locations but as proven by the overnight shift to remote working, these are not insurmountable. Owners and developers of the built environment will need to consider the new working environment and how it impacts their existing buildings, potentially looking to adapt them to better function in the new market. Designers and contractors appointed to design and build new buildings will need to consider how they can be flexible and future proof for a number of different clients and needs. THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE 10 IT’S YOUR CHOICE