MINE, YOURS AND OURS Today, there’s a price tag attached to every inch of office space. Yet how much space is wasted or under-utilized in conventional offices where there are individual work stations, private offices and cabins, not to mention those spacious and much-coveted corner offices? That could be about to change. A new concept in conserving work space is fast gaining ground. It’s called ‘activity-based’ working. It takes the idea of ‘hotdesking’ a step further. With ‘hotdesking’ the same desk is shared by different people in rotation. They plug in, do their work and check out. They usually don’t belong to the same organization. What happens with ‘activity-based’ working is that private, individual work spaces within an organization are completely dispensed with. Instead there is one work space – usually a long table – that is shared by all. When you see an empty space, you just move in and start working. People may be travelling or business or away on holiday. They may be out at a sales call or a client meeting. If they have private offices, those go empty – a huge waste of space. ‘Activity-based’ working, on the other hand, makes optimum use of office space. Cutting down on those hierarchical barriers also makes the whole ambience more free and easy. People can move around and sit where they like. And they share more than space. They share ideas and get inspired by their neighbours. The eight-hour working day becomes more fun and, importantly, more productive. There’s a lot of flexibility when you adopt activity-based working. The whole work space opens up. There is so much more fluidity. No walls to constrain you. It’s like opening up the barriers of the mind. With all its advantages, ‘activity-based’ working does have some limitations. What if you just want some quiet time to think, generate breakthrough ideas? What if you want to brainstorm with your team? One solution could be to have a special room that people can book ahead for just such a purpose. A white room, for instance, where phones and cell phones are banned. Once you have got those elusive ideas, it’s back to the drawing board – or, in this case, the long table - to put those ideas into action. Security is an area of concern. You have to be extra careful about securing sensitive information. Technology is a great help here, offering special devices to protect data. But there’s nothing like just making sure there’s no one looking over your shoulder. Not everyone would willingly opt for ‘activity-based’ working, however. Some people just don’t like change. They like to have their own desks with personal photographs and paraphernalia around them. For them ‘activity-based’ working may not work. At least, not yet. But we believe they will come round in the end. The ‘activity-based’ model will be increasingly adopted as the cost and space-saving benefits outweigh any resistance to the idea. Meanwhile, how about asking that attractive neighbour who just sat down next to you, to lunch? It could be the start of a great new friendship.