Dogs, Design Help, and Space to Take Zoom Calls: The Latest Office Demands from UK Businesses

Every day, our Flexible Office Solutions team speaks to businesses of all shapes and sizes about their office space search. We caught up with them to understand the latest demands, trends and challenges.

The Changing Office Demands Post-Covid

The worldwide covid pandemic disrupted the labour markets in a way no one could have guessed. Businesses globally had to shift and adjust to working from home and it was proven that it could be done — it wasn’t necessary to spend time and money on a long commute if the same job could be done to at least the same standard as in an office environment.

Since then, flexible office solutions skyrocketed, as businesses could avoid paying for unused space. This is because you only need to pay for the space you need and use on a monthly basis, making it easy to scale your workspace up or down depending on how many employees are working on site.

Once lockdown restrictions eased, employees were, naturally, demanding more from their office space in order to make the commute worthwhile. After all, why would anyone spend time and money commuting for a role that could be completed from the comfort of their own home? Business owners now have to be savvy in company benefits, while also ensuring that the amenities offered by serviced and flexible offices reflect what the team expects.

Here, we go through some office space demands from businesses choosing flexible office solutions.

What Are the Most Common Office Space Demands You’re Getting From Businesses?

Francesca Cooper Isow: Managing ‘Zoom culture’ is everyone’s greatest challenge right now. It doesn’t take long to realise how noisy an open-plan office is when everyone’s on a Zoom call with their WFH colleagues and clients. We’re getting a lot of requests to have ‘offices within offices’ to manage that noise. In the past, only larger businesses would need that feature, but now, even smaller teams deem is necessary.

Tom Walsh: Luckily, plenty of offices have these, and if they don’t, they’re quite easy to build. Or, phone booths can be brought in. People just need private spaces to take calls.

Amanda Lim: In the conversations that I’m having, businesses know they want to be more collaborative in the office, but they don’t know how to put that into practice. They need help with the design side of things, and often want to see customised fit-outs ahead of office viewings, or even showrooms. ‘Test fits’ have become quite common, which is where a flexible office provider puts together a floorplan based on what a business wants. It helps everyone imagine how the space can be used.

Oliver Levesley: Exactly. And because businesses don’t know what they want or how to design their office, it’s much easier to know once you’ve seen an example. We can help suggest different types of spaces to facilitate collaboration, be it high chairs, focus zones, seating booths, breakout spaces and ad hoc meeting space rather than actual meeting rooms. All these types of spaces definitely help people share ideas, collaborate better, and kickstart impromptu chats.

Steven Lydon: That need for design help is actually part of a bigger shift. There was a point in time, earlier in the year, when a 50-person business would simply halve the amount of space they needed and search for a 25-person office on account of hybrid working. That’s now changed. Leaders want to cater to their entire business. In that respect, a 50-person business might now search for a 50-person office, but perhaps only half of that space needs to be fixed desks. The rest of the office can be made up of those agile working environments we’ve just mentioned.

Managing ‘Zoom culture’ is everyone’s greatest challenge right now. It doesn’t take long to realise how noisy an open-plan office is when everyone’s on a Zoom call with their WFH colleagues and clients.

Francesca Cooper-Isow

Senior Surveyor

Tom Walsh: I’ve also had so many requests for dog-friendly offices, which makes sense when you consider the number of people who adopted puppies during lockdown. They don’t want to leave them at home, which is fair — dogs make great office mascots.

Dog-friendly offices can help boost employee morale and productivity and may well be a wellbeing benefit for your employees. If your business does have furry friends, we recommend choosing an office space close to green spaces, ideal for stretching both little and large legs. In any case, being close to open spaces for a lunchtime walk can do wonders for the mental health of your whole team.

We’ve Spoken a Lot About High-Quality Office Space Being in Demand — Is That Still the Case?

Steven Lydon: Absolutely. Amenity-rich space, roof terraces, and high-quality offices are still top of everyone’s lists. Businesses simply don’t want dull offices. No one wants to be in a cramped, uninspiring room packed full of desks.

Tom Walsh: That office experience ties into location, too. I’m speaking to clients who really don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere, far away from a tube station. Leaders are trying to make it easy and exciting for people to come in. I’ve had a few businesses wanting to be in really ‘buzzy’ areas, like Soho, so that after work, everyone can make the most of being in London and go for dinner and drinks with friends or colleagues.

Oliver Levesley: I’m also speaking to businesses that are keen to take advantage of multiple locations. So, they want a central HQ for company-wide days, but they also want multi-site access to other flexible spaces around London that employees can use. They feel that working from a nearby office is better than working from home.

The layout and location of an office space is more important than you may realise. Many flexible office spaces promote an agile working layout, including various working areas and zones, to suit a number of working styles. Meanwhile, the location can impact your company culture which, in turn, affects employee retention and talent acquisition. Sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date about the latest in office design and culture.

How Has the Rise of Hybrid Working Affected Office Requirements?

Francesca Cooper-Isow: By the time they’re looking for an office, businesses generally have a good sense of their hybrid working plans. They’ve either done an employee survey to get a sense of what everyone in the organisation wants, or they’ve gone ahead and decided what they think is best for the business.

Amanda Lim: In the first half of the year, we were regularly asked about the possibility of ‘part-time offices’, where you only pay for the days you’re in, but now, businesses are generally happy to take on a full-time office and use it as they need.

No matter what your office requirements are, we can find the perfect office for you. The team at Knight Frank are experts in finding the best office solutions for your business. We know the market inside out and can find and negotiate the best deals for you. And, best of all, our services are completely free.