Introduction
Flexible workplaces refer to office spaces or working arrangements that are not conventional. These arrangements do not suit the traditional views and designs of office spaces and are usually designed in a manner that suits the needs of an organization. The concept of flexible workspaces has been a raging debate for the last few years with parties on both sides offering their insights. The reality of flexible workspaces has become more pertinent with the Covid-19 pandemic that caused the massive adoption of remote working, a concept of flexible workplaces. This essay supports the need for the adoption of flexibility in the workplace and its importance while refuting opposing views that are against it. A flexible workplace is a major field in my Business Administration major and will be crucial in my career. This concept will promote my ability to manage employees’ welfare while supporting the achievement of company objectives.
Benefits of Flexible Workplaces
New Ways of Working
Flexible workspaces have been vital in promoting new ways of working for the corporations that have adopted them. The new ways of working involve the use of hot desks where workers have stations available on demand. This means that a desk is available to whichever worker needs it, beating the conventional ownership of desks by specific workers (Dixon et al., 2019). An additional new way of this model is the coworking spaces where employees in businesses such as traveling professions can share the space available. This concept is a grander application of the hot desks, ensuring that employees can use space in an economically viable manner (Kingma, 2018). Additionally, open spaces have also been a revolutionary idea where the office area can be used most conveniently. The new ways of working described above have enabled companies to abandon traditional office regulations. They have eliminated boredom and increased mobility within the working stations. The management has also used these methods to reduce the need for larger working spaces hence enhancing the cost-effective running of businesses.
Greater Innovation
Flexible workplaces also allow for greater innovation by both the employees and the management. Innovation thrives in areas with decreased pressure and enhanced freedom to formulate grand ideas. Flexible workspaces offer the ideal environment for workers to develop and experiment with new ideas. The flexible areas and the absence of rigidity mean that many ideas are allowed and none is considered unconventional. The workers can shape the workplace according to their own needs at any particular moment, ensuring innovation is boosted (Gaidis & Liebman, 2020). Innovation involves the use of technology within the workplace to boost revolutionary ideas. The absence of rigid setups means that the workplace can experiment with new technology that increases effectiveness. This was hampered by the previous working arrangements as the incorporation of any new device ensured a disruption of the entire architecture of a company. Greater innovation has been instrumental in ensuring that the corporate world grows and the environment improves in a positive trajectory.
Increased Visibility
Flexible workspaces ensure increased visibility for different brands and employees who are allowed to express themselves. Within the office space, the employees are allowed to choose the areas that are most convenient for them at any specific moment. Whenever they feel like they need a change in environment for their good, the employees are not restricted and can make the switch quickly. This ensures that they can operate at their highest level hence making them visible to visiting clients and management. The open working spaces can also be used to advertise various partners and packages offered by the host company. The advertisements are usually in the form of posters and audio-visual methods using screens. The advertisement and promotion of various brands is an additional advantage to the dedicated marketing strategies already in operation (Bissett, 2020). This new marketing feature is vital in improving sales and attracting new customers. It also enables the company to notice the performing workers and offer them deserved promotions while noticing prospective new workers regarded as freelancers.
Motivated and Effective Workers
The open working spaces are mainly geared towards meeting the needs of employees as everything is built around flexibility and convenience. One of the most significant aspects of flexible offices is the remote working condition that has been necessitated by the pandemic (Gale Academic OneFile, 2021). Workers can carry out their various responsibilities while attending to their other needs in life. This includes employees with physical conditions that make movement uncomfortable and mothers who need to care for their children and families. Remote working allows them to deliver on their mandate while preserving their health and attending to the lives and needs of their beloveds. This portrays the workplace that adopts this model as an entity dedicated to employee welfare and promotes loyalty. Loyalty and motivation by the workers to ensure the businesses thrive is a crucial ingredient of successful corporations.
It ensures workers are motivated to go beyond the bare minimums and make additional sacrifices for the company. The employees also commit their long-term future to their employer, preventing the loss of the finest minds to competition.
Counterargument
The groups opposing the concept of flexible working spaces are mostly conservative employers who associate change with loss. These groups believe in close control of their businesses and workforce in general. They believe in the need to ensure their employees are kept under strict regulations to prevent contravening the company rules (Zamani & Gum, 2019). The sentiments of these groups are mostly built upon mistrust of their employees’ abilities and the idea that they must be regulated to enable productivity. The groups also associate the flexible workspaces with excessively comfortable employees who may become lazy and fail to deliver on their mandate. The owners of such enterprises believe that employees must suffer to deliver results and ensure productivity. The groups against flexible working spaces are also keen on ensuring stability, which is regarded as a crucial component of consistency and productivity. The contradictory groups also hold that making such sporadic changes to the working environment is bound to decrease pride in the profession.
Conclusion
In conclusion, flexible working spaces have come at a crucial time of the corporate revolution and offer more benefits than harm. This concept has increased innovation, motivation, profitability, efficient use of space, and increased visibility. Flexible working spaces benefit all parties, including workers who can meet their other needs, employers who can make additional profits, and customers who gain exposure to new products through marketing. Those against flexible spaces associate them with losses, erosion of culture, and inefficient workforces. Flexible working spaces are the future of corporates and the sooner most companies adopt this revolutionary idea, the sooner they will realize the benefits. These firms are also poised to make immense profits from the incorporation of this concept while increasing innovation and loyalty.
References
Bissett, R. (2020). Flexible leading spaces: An exploration of leader experiences of shared office spaces [Doctoral Dissertation]. In 156.62.60.45. Web.
Dixon, J., Banwell, C., Strazdins, L., Corr, L., & Burgess, J. (2019). Flexible employment policies, temporal control and health promoting practices: A qualitative study in two Australian worksites. PLoS ONE, 14(12). Web.
Gaidis, T., & Liebman, B. (2020). How coworking is fuelling the evolution of innovation centres and districts. Corporate Real Estate Journal, 9(3), 268–282. Web.
Gale Academic Onefile. (2021). The post-pandemic workplace: A flexible work environment can create strategic opportunities, says John Rodi, leader of the KPMG Board Leadership Center. Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc., 78(3).
Kingma, S. (2018). New ways of working (NWW): Work space and cultural change in virtualizing organizations. Culture and Organization, 25(5), 383–406. Web.
Zamani, Z., & Gum, D. (2019). Activity-based flexible office. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). Web.