How Technology is Restructuring Office Spaces

A pan India analysis of average office space transactions over the past year has thrown up an interesting trend. While we see the total space take-up picking up pace, curiously, the average size of our new offices seems to be shrinking. New offices do not necessarily mean offices of new companies, but it means offices that were leased by companies off late.

Bangalore has the largest offices, owing to campuses by large technology firms, with Pune and Chennai following closely on its heels. However, the overall size of new offices in the country has gone down by 12%. Bangalore saw its average new office size shrinking by 22% compared to last year while office sizes in Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR were smaller by 53% and 20% respective. This trend which is integral to the future of work, is here to stay with multiple dynamic factors shaping it.

Flexible workspaces

Many organizations are implementing innovative workplace strategies that attract and enable today’s agile workforce. Current trends in the industry involve smaller workstations with new integrated technologies that allow flexible seating and hot-desking. Agile companies are dedicating lower number of seats to floating employees and creating more collaboration zones instead. The aim is increasing workspace utilisation and enhance efficiency while optimising costs.

Splitting of Core and Non- core businesses

Organisations are separating business and operations by placing them in different locations to optimise costs. Prime office corridors command higher real estate costs as compared off-centre locations, which play a key role in shaping this trend. Also as the dynamics for these businesses differ greatly in terms of working hours, workstation sizes and talent requirements, the companies find this a feasible option. This is also beneficial from a branding perspective as it increases presence of the firm across multiple locations.

Technology

Automation is the buzzword in today’s time. Firms are employing automation tools to not only improve efficiencies but also reduce errors caused by human. While we are seeing hiring at top IT firms showing a slowing trend, in the medium to long term, it is anticipated that technology disruptions will create a very dynamic environment leading to companies looking to undertake a considerable reduction in the size of office space they require.

Key Takeaways

The workplace as we know it, is undergoing a transformative shift. There is increased emphasis on cost optimisation, enhancing productivity and focus on sustainability even as human experience in the workplace gathers more steam. Firms across the country are shrinking cubicles or doing away with them completely- and embracing open plan workspaces. Laptops and netbooks are replacing clunky monitors and more and more employees are working remotely to increase productivity by reducing travel time. Smaller offices have environmental benefits too- as reduced space implies a reduced carbon footprint. While the current trend doesn’t indicate that office sizes will continue to reduce in the future, it highlights the major changes taking place around us and we need to step in with the times.