In his 1989 classic, The Great Good Place, the sociologist Ray Oldenburg introduced the now-widely embraced concept of the “third place”—a space people use as a complement to their first place (home) and second place (work). The need for third places among office workers is evident in the ubiquity of coffee shops and internet cafés—informal spaces for collaboration, social interaction and relaxed solo work.
BRINGING THE ‘THIRD PLACE’ INTO THE WORKPLACE