To meet the needs of future leaders, the Goodman office in Irvine features an activity-based working environment that enables employees to choose and work in spaces that best support their tasks and preferred work styles.
The 2018 office market demonstrated robust growth, characterized by continued demand for space, healthy activity from occupiers, increased rents, and a wave of new supply that gave tenants increased leverage and flexibility. In addition, there continued to be a heightened demand for companies to reevaluate their space needs to ensure they will support their future workforce. Yet, despite business growth and an ongoing war for top talent, companies are becoming more reluctant to move or take on additional office space, until they are sure that their current office no longer supports their growth or function. If you are contemplating signing a commercial office lease that will extend beyond the next five to seven years, and are anticipating uncertainty in the real estate market, the question you might be asking is: “Should we stay, or should we go?”
Long term sustainability, even in a healthy economy, requires more than just a cool, hip, open office floor plan and a technologically savvy space. To truly support tomorrow’s workforce, companies will need to reimagine the concept of an office – from a space just for work – to a purpose-driven environment that fosters communication, ideation and more. And at the heart of any office transformation is the need to increase collaboration and engagement – key pillars of company cultures. Many progressive companies are reevaluating their existing space in search of effective office design solutions that can maximize their current work environment. They are recognizing that an office space that focuses on core migration patterns and increased collaboration, rather than individual work space, can become a tool that drives and retains their most valuable asset: their people.
As our workforce becomes more mobile, agile and diverse, the office of tomorrow will require a new level of workplace optimization to support business process and function. The following trends will continue to redefine the office of tomorrow as employers work to gain a competitive edge in 2019 and beyond.
Millennials Leading the Charge
Millennial leadership and technology integration will have a radical effect on the composition of the workplace. Consider this: Millennials currently make up nearly 35 percent of the workforce, according to Pew Research, and in the coming years will increasingly be assuming leadership positions. This group of digital natives and agile workers value engagement and creativity in their work environment. They crave a sense of purpose in their individual work and from the organizations to which they belong. Companies looking to reimagine their office and foster a purpose-driven work environment will need to deliver on the needs of our future leaders by maximizing spaces that support activity-based working, intuitive technology and collaboration. This includes designing thoughtfully planned spaces that integrate collaboration and amenity areas in a way that maximizes engagement yet minimizes disruption.