In the last issue of our newsletter, which was only available in Japanese (sorry for those who reads English content), we announced a JCCNC seminar on Daizu’s vision for the future of the office.
With the reopening of the economy, many companies are considering where and how to work in the coming months. We will give you the summary of the seminar, and hope find it helpful. Also, please check out the video link at the end of the seminar. (We are sorry that the seminar was conducted in all Japanese)
The Future of the Office
One of the biggest advantages of working in an office is having more opportunities to get information or help you need. Another advantage of working in an office is the sense of belongingness to the team or organization, and the strong security on the corporate intellectual property or IT system. Having your team meet face-to-face helps to define the company’s culture and build a community in the organization.
Most workers worked either from home or at office during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but now we see the trend of ABW (Activity Based Working) spreading around the world. With the concept of the ABW, workers freely choose the location of their work depending on the task they work on or day-to-day situation.
In this age of dispersed work locations, it is important to deliberately engage in face-to-face communications with the fellow team members. For this reason, the future of the office is now playing different roles than it used to be.
In the future, the office should be a place to enhance teamwork, a place for team communication, a place to make important decisions, and a place to input information and skills.
Now, GAFAM and IT companies have announced their outlook for office reopening as follows. (In alphabetical order)
Amazon: 3 days a week in the office, 2 days a week remote work
Apple: 3 days a week in the office, 2 days a week remote work starting in September
Facebook: Full remote work with approval, or at least 50% of the work week in the office
Google: 3 days a week in the office, 2 days a week remote work
Microsoft: At least 50% of all work hours are spent in the office (depending on position)
Salesforce: Work from Anywhere
Twitter: Allows permanent telecommuting, but allows workers to come to office if they wish
Daizu thinks the following areas should be included in the future office:
Work Area – This is an open and bright environment where workers can work individually and talk to others or ask for advice as needed, providing an ease of working that is not available with telecommuting.
Cafe & Work Lounge Area – This is a great area to work in when workers want to work in a relaxed atmosphere, allowing workers easily meet people by chance and get new ideas from informal conversations with others.
Meeting Area – A place for sharing information and exchanging opinions. To increase the efficiency of the meeting, information sharing tools such as monitors, and whiteboards are necessary. The key is to create an office that allows workers to choose the location depending on the agenda of the meeting.
Collaboration Area – A casual atmosphere for workers to generates better ideas. This area can be used for training, group work, seminars, and events. This space can also be used for touchdowns, casual meetings, and other multi-purpose activities.
Concentration Area – This is a place where workers can concentrate on their work or take their time to focus on thoughts. If the space is soundproofed, it can also be used for private consultations, phone calls, and remote meetings involving confidential or personal information.
This is a good time to review your current office layout in preparation for reopening your office. Please contact Daizu to create an office that can accommodate the increasingly diverse ways of working! Click here to contact us.
Here is a link to the JCCNC seminar, where Daizu staff will be giving a more detailed presentation. (Only available in Japanese)
