“One of the biggest influencers on workplace design has been technology. Technology has allowed knowledge workers the ability to be much more agile, creating the opportunity to use real estate differently and more effectively.”
Those thoughts are from Jacqueline Barr, design principal at Ted Moudis Assoc., who tells GlobeSt.com, that this in turn results in more physical interaction and connectivity in the workplace. “The younger generation is driving this change,” she says. “They tend to want a variety of places to work. It's not about where you do the work, it's about getting work done more productively—wherever that happens to be.”
And with the improvements in technology, companies are more paperless than ever before. And as a result, according to Jason Rich, president of operations at Snyder Langston, less and less space is required in an office. “You no longer need hordes of filing cabinets and storage space. Now that we have computers doing this for us, the average square foot per employee continues to shrink.”
Rich says that this allows for people to be much more mobile within the workspace. “They don't want nor need to work solely at their desks, but instead want to work on their laptops in communal collaborate office spaces, on patios, in the kitchen, etc.”
Julie Kilpatrick, senior manager at JLL's project and developer services group, tells GlobeSt.com that technology allows workers to shatter the “work/life balance” euphemism used to promote the 40-hour work week and move towards a more accurate “work/life blend” of flexible work hours. She adds that it provides “the ability to set one's own deadlines and manage their workload individually.”
It is all about efficiency. Bill Boyd, senior managing director in the Glendale, CA-office of Charles Dunn Co., notes that technology is changing both small firms and corporations alike, allowing them to be more resourceful in a variety of day-to-day operations. For example, he says, “the laptop computer allows some firms to have employees 'share' desk space or to use common desks as the need for even file space begins to disappear with the advent of the 'paperless' work model. Both contribute to changing space and use requirements for office firms.”
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
