As companies seek to gain efficiencies in the workplace, provide choice for employees, and attract and retain talent, strategies involving agile working and free-address have gained traction. When our Gensler La Crosse office relocated last year, we leveraged the opportunity to support an agile workplace strategy. While there are arguments for and against agile working, here’s what I’ve experienced firsthand.
“Going agile” is an optional program for my office. Twenty percent of my colleagues and I elected to be agile workers. This means that we no longer have an assigned seat in the office. Every day we choose between a selection of stations, and they are first-come-first serve.
Each station is configured with the same dual monitor setup that plugs into our laptops. The stations are intermixed within all of the departments. While similar, each station has slightly different characteristics: some are adjacent to windows, isles, collaboration spaces, etc. Per policy, one cannot sit in the same station twice per week (in other words, no squatting).
“Most companies benefit from spontaneous collaboration—when you share information with colleagues on the fly and integrate as a team,” says Gensler’s Cindy Coleman in her blog, “Dear Office Worker, The Future Is Free Address.”
Giving up dedicated seating to be agile also means giving up filing cabinets and drawers. All agile employees have a 12” x 24” tote to keep belongings. Think of this as moving into a tiny house—while you have to be selective of what you keep, a minimalist approach can be very freeing. It’s also not for everyone.
To downsize to my tote, I digitized my important notes and switched from a landline to a softphone. I got rid of my collection of expired Chapstick, tchotchkes, and used notebooks. I returned my hoard of Post-its, paper clips, and pens to the supply room, transferred my family photo to my desktop background, and rehomed my desk plant. I felt like I was all set for day one.
Day 1: On my first day of going agile, I immediately regretted it (spoiler alert--it gets better!). It was disorientating stepping foot into our brand new office, and I had no idea where to go or where my tote had ended up in the move. Once I was able to access a map of our new floor plan, I found a seat for the day and settled in. I had survived my first day as an agile worker.