—Wary of Going the Way of the Office Dodo.

Dear Way of the Office Dodo:

My qualified – on the one hand – response is that both startups as well as traditional firms will continue to prefer open collaborative office space. The workforce of most startups consists primarily of Millennials who, from their teenage years, have preferred participating in collaborative work. Traditional firms, while not employing nearly as high a percentage of Millennials, nonetheless want to feel they are providing their employees with a 21^st century workspace environment.

Firms of all sizes will enhance productivity by offering private workspaces, from the 75-square-foot, one person office to varying sized conference rooms. Even wearing earbuds to block out the noise, there are times when many of us prefer to work in a solitary fashion in order to channel our inner productivity. Spaces must also be provided for meetings both between staff members and visitors from outside the firm. The advantage of closed, rather than open, conferencing space provides the opportunity to limit both auditory and walk-in interruptions.

Now, for my “on the other hand” thought. Some of the fast growing unicorns may find themselves short of space, and until they move to or build larger quarters, will want to rent space by the hour for employees who require private space. In essence, firms that are short of space may find it more economical and productive to rent space on a temporary basis rather than seek to “house” their overflow staff at Starbucks. Such rentals are particularly likely to be part of the mix for firms that are unsure how many employees they will be hiring six months or a year from now.

SAN FRANCISCO—Wouldn't it be convenient if someone had clear, intelligent answers to most of your CRE-related questions? Problem solved. Nina J. Gruen, a.k.a. Ms. Real Estate, a.k.a. the principal sociologist overseeing market research and analysis at Gruen Gruen + Associates, is here to answer readers' questions.

Have a question for Ms. Real Estate? Ask anonymously by clicking here.

Dear Ms. Real Estate:

I am a Bay Area office space broker. As you know, collaborative space dominates both the newly built as well as reconfigured office market. The firms making up my client base range from small to larger size companies with over 500 employees. The majority have a strong preference for open space floor plans, and this preference is certainly not limited to tech firms. Recently, I have also seen a growth in companies that specialize in leasing and managing office space and then market their facilities on an hourly rental basis. I had thought that the only two markets for this space were out-of-towners and people working from their homes who occasionally needed space to meet and work with others. But a new startup, Breather, is providing an app for larger companies like Uber, Airbnb and Facebook to reserve private office and conference space on an hourly basis on behalf of their employees. Does this suggest that the open collaborative space model should be rethought?

—Wary of Going the Way of the Office Dodo.

Dear Way of the Office Dodo:

My qualified – on the one hand – response is that both startups as well as traditional firms will continue to prefer open collaborative office space. The workforce of most startups consists primarily of Millennials who, from their teenage years, have preferred participating in collaborative work. Traditional firms, while not employing nearly as high a percentage of Millennials, nonetheless want to feel they are providing their employees with a 21^st century workspace environment.

Firms of all sizes will enhance productivity by offering private workspaces, from the 75-square-foot, one person office to varying sized conference rooms. Even wearing earbuds to block out the noise, there are times when many of us prefer to work in a solitary fashion in order to channel our inner productivity. Spaces must also be provided for meetings both between staff members and visitors from outside the firm. The advantage of closed, rather than open, conferencing space provides the opportunity to limit both auditory and walk-in interruptions.

Now, for my “on the other hand” thought. Some of the fast growing unicorns may find themselves short of space, and until they move to or build larger quarters, will want to rent space by the hour for employees who require private space. In essence, firms that are short of space may find it more economical and productive to rent space on a temporary basis rather than seek to “house” their overflow staff at Starbucks. Such rentals are particularly likely to be part of the mix for firms that are unsure how many employees they will be hiring six months or a year from now.