THE TENANT ADVISOR
The Corporate Real Estate Blog of Coy Davidson Colliers International
http://www.coydavidson.com
Coworking or the Corner Office?
The Open Office Debate
There has been a tremendous of amount of commentary published over the last couple of years
regarding the trend of shrinking office space allocations as more companies opt for open office
space layouts designed for enhanced collaboration among employees. I think it is pretty hard to
refute that many companies are removing the walls and moving towards more open office
environments, but the trend is certainly not universal among all industries. A
recent study conducted by CoreNet Global has predicted that office users will reduce the
amount of space they allocate per person to an average of 151 square feet by 2017, compared
to 176 square feet today, and 225 square feet in 2010. Today, just 24 percent of the
respondents to the CoreNet Global study reported that the average space per office worker is
100 square feet or less; however, 40 percent reported that within five years, the average space
per office worker would be 100 square feet or less. There is more than one factor contributing to
declining space allocations. Some of the trend is cost driven and the result of new technology
that allows employees to work remotely. One of the most cited reasons for the trend of more
open office space is to increase collaboration among employees by removing the cubicle walls.
The Backlash ... "Headphones are the New Wall"
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THE TENANT ADVISOR
The Corporate Real Estate Blog of Coy Davidson Colliers International
http://www.coydavidson.com
We are beginning to see the early signs of grumbling from employees regarding the trend of
open office environments. An article from the New York Times recently summarized the
growing backlash from employees regarding a lack of privacy and increased noise disruption
from open office plans. The question remains if we will begin to see more backlash from
employees regarding this new style of office design. There is also a misconception that opting
for an open office space design automatically yields a significant reduction in the overall office
space footprint. However, while an open space design can certainly pare down the footprint, in
order for this approach to be truly effective in the objective of enhancing collaboration, requires
an increase in the volume of community meeting space within the office. As a result, the overall
office footprint is not reduced as dramatically as you might think.
Reality is Typically in the Middle of Two Extremes
Some in the commercial real estate world are of the opinion that the hoteling concept is
inevitable and the workplace of the future will look dramatically different than it does today. In
contrast, there is the opinion among some that the open office will not be as prevalent as
predicted and this trend will lose steam. How companies utilize their space is without question
going to vary among industries. For example, in Houston where Energy is the dominant
industry, the private office is considered an important recruiting tool and necessary for highly
technical work. I have found in the past where there are two dramatically contrasting views of
the future, that reality tends to end-up somewhere in the middle. I predict that for many
companies we will continue to see shrinking space allocations as the size of private offices will
shrink and there will be more collaborative common workspace sprinkled throughout the floor
plan. Senior and Middle Management will remain in private offices albeit smaller ones, but the
days of 50 square feet per employee are nowhere in the immediate future for many
organizations. You might also like:
Sitting on the Bench
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