There has been a lot of talk about the modern office. It’s trendy, it’s fashionable, and focuses on improving employee happiness and productivity among others. I am for all that but, is the modern office a game changer? We all love the scientific studies that confirm our biases; like red wine makes you live longer; chocolate is good for your health; and exercise is overrated. That sort of thing. I feel the modern office is overrated. The forced togetherness of open-plan offices may be sociable and good for informal brainstorming, but it is also noisy and distracting.
A recent Harvard study proves my bias and probably what anyone who works in a modern open-plan office already knows; they’re terrible! Too many employees packed into one open room just amounts to regular interruptions by co-workers and high levels of noise. As such, employees retreat into their headphones seeking their sense of de facto solitude, hampering the original intention of open conversations, idea sharing, and collaboration, ultimately creating an atmosphere of complacency and dissatisfaction.
Workplace trends
That notwithstanding the modern-day office has undergone a huge transformation which surmounts the rigidity of the traditional office; bringing forth the trends we see today.
Dress code
Before business casual, the workplace was a rigid place where employees conformed to cultural norms such as choking up in formal wear. Even though workplace culture varies among organizations there is a gradual shift to a toned-down and casual office personality.
Work-life balance and Wellbeing
The modern workplace focuses on greater investment in people. Physical spaces are not only designed to accommodate staff effectively, but also incorporate wellbeing; with amenities like gym, day-cares, breast-feeding rooms, think-pods, restaurants and cafes, etc. Employers know the pressure their employees face. Thus, more employers are offering flexible schedules.
Annual performance appraisals are cliché
Employees spend their time in the office working under a manager’s direction, and at the end of their first anniversary, receive a performance review; a score that determines if your performance augers well or ill with the job’s responsibilities. This process is not only inefficient, it damages morale of employees who thought were performing well. Employers of modern workplaces give their employees more responsive feedback through weekly or monthly reviews instead of annual reviews.
Working hours (Infamous 8 – 5)
Instead of focusing on hours in the office, companies are turning their focus towards deliverables and outcomes. The awkward feeling of getting eye-balled as you walk into the office half an hour late is on its way out. Dr Paul Kelley of Oxford University revealed that nine-to-five working hours are completely out of sync with human biology. Hours of productivity vary among employees.
The rotating workforce
Job hopping has become the new norm with 91 percent of millennial workers only anticipating spending 3 years or less at one company. Employers must be creative in their retention strategies and focus heavily on employee engagement.
KIPCHUMBA KIBOR is a freelance writer Email: kipchumba_l@yahoo.com
