Activity-Based Working and What That Means for Office Design

Activity-based working (ABW) has been shown to reduce company costs, improve employee engagement and improve collaborative effectiveness in the modern workplace. With benefits like that, it’s no surprise that businesses are searching for ways to implement it – but what exactly is it, and how is it implemented?

Activity-based working allows employees to choose where they work to suit their activity. In ABW environments, workplaces are often zoned to create separate workspaces supporting tasks and team requirements. For example, if employees need to concentrate, they’re encouraged to work in a quiet zone with little interruption or distraction. In contrast, where teams need to collaborate and brainstorm, workspaces are engineered to generate energy and fuel ideas in a buzzy work setting. In today’s workplace, where office space is often at a premium and many workers are taking advantage of flexible working, it makes great sense for employers to encourage movement within a varied work environment.

Here’s why…

What can activity-based working do for your business?

Fixed desks in an open-plan office no longer work for all (and many question whether they ever did). The benefits of activity-based working, however, are numerous. Research consistently finds positive and measurable outcomes for ABW, and organisations continue to demonstrate impressive returns.

These are the most commonly reported advantages of activity-based working:

Reduced operational costs

When planning office design or an office move, ABW may initially look costly and complex, but the opposite is true. The introduction of flexible and remote working has meant that many desks are left vacant for numerous days a year. Given that the cost of renting office space per employee in London averages between £7800 and £18,000 per year, an empty desk is a costly one. ABW takes advantage of flexible working practices and uses the opportunity to maximise the return on each workstation, zone or room by keeping each workstation in use for most of the time.

Improved employee engagement, productivity and effectiveness

A study from Steelcase found that employees who have the control to choose where and how they work, with the flexibility to move around the workplace when needed to focus on tasks, were 88% more engaged (and subsequently satisfied) with their work. Large-scale research has shown that ABW delivers significant operational benefits, too. Specifically, the more complex an employee’s daily responsibility, the more beneficial it is for them to work in multiple work settings. However, productivity levels are closely linked to how often an employee uses various work locations. The more the spaces are used, the better the returns.

Better health and wellbeing

With workplace wellness featuring heavily in organisational agendas in the 2020s, it’s encouraging that ABW impacts employee wellbeing and the bottom line. Flexibility at work directly contributes to an employee’s sense of control and wellbeing, while the movement that comes from moving to different workstations helps with the negative health effects that can come from sedentary behaviour.

The success factors for activity-based working

Implementing an agile or activity-based working culture requires a change in attitudes and modifications to the physical environment and office interior. Tailor-made office design, inspirational interiors, activity-related cues and space planning are all critical factors when introducing ABW to the workplace.

Physical cues

Employees will need to be regularly reminded and encouraged to leave their workstations to find a task-suitable area. Fixed desks have been in place for all time, as far as most generations are concerned, so physical cues around the workplace will signify the new way of working long after the novelty has worn off. These visual, auditory and olfactory cues in office design are essential in communicating an area’s purpose.

Office furniture fit-for-purpose

Creating different areas within a workspace isn’t enough for effective activity-based working. Interior design and space planning need to work hand-in-hand with custom furniture to create spaces that support specific activities. Where space is premium, multi-purpose furniture can change a space when needed. For example, integrated seating, desks and storage can be interchanged to suit teamwork, training or desk work. Similarly, partitions, panels, moveable walls and storage units can create walkways, work zones, rest areas or private spaces. Furniture should also facilitate the use of technology in an agile, active or flexible working environment. Fixed desktop computers become less important, whilst the need for integrated power, ample sockets for mobile tech, and media centres take precedence. Where a unified interior design theme may be preferable to achieve an overall style for a business, each workspace will require a different treatment through colour, textiles, acoustic benefits, comfort and light to increase or decrease the energy of a room.

A place to call home

Activity-based working has been shown to improve employee performance and engagement, but it’s important that feelings of security and belonging aren’t lost while abolishing fixed desks. People still need a place to call their own to achieve a sense of wellbeing, and whilst they won’t necessarily have a place to put a photo of their cat any longer, they should be given secure storage to keep their belongings. It’s not ideal for employees to carry their bags, lunch, gym gear and coats to every workspace they visit in a day. Lockers, moveable storage units and cloakrooms provide a permanent space where personal belongings, paperwork, notebooks, accessories and technology can be housed in a constantly moving environment.

A lead, learn and refine culture

Cultural change is one of the hardest things to change, and it must come from the top if ABW is to work. Leaving a desk to work somewhere else will feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar to many who have historically worked in an environment where staying at one’s desk is seen as good employee behaviour. Senior management must actively encourage teams and individuals to move – and should do so by example, making a point to work on the floor alongside employees. Two-way trust is a critical success factor in activity-based working.

Setting expectations is key, but it’s also important to remember that activity-based working is different for every business. It evolves over time, becoming better and better. Organisations should introduce processes that seek to learn and communicate how ABW changes impact the business and the subsequent actions required to continue improving.

If you’re planning an office move or a new office interior as part of a refurbishment project, it is worth considering the benefits of introducing activity-based working into your new office design. With countless benefits and cost savings to be made, the change in working culture could be what your business needs to move forward in the 2020s.

Find out more about our Office Design service here.