Designing offices for resilient companies

It has been three years since Covid-19 shook up our day-to-day lives, forcing many of us to work from home. However, the tides have turned – the UOB survey conducted last June found that nearly half of Singaporean workers are now expected to work full-time at the workplace. This runs contrary to the desires of many employees, who prefer hybrid working arrangements.

Given the increased importance of the office in luring employees back to work, organisations have had to reinvent how it is designed. This can be seen in the high percentage of occupiers who have revamped their workplace standards since the pandemic.

American architecture and design firm NBBJ, which has a strong track record in office design, wrote in Harvard Business Review in January 2022 that pandemic or not, companies need to build an office that people will want to come back to. It has worked on many projects in Asia and the US, including Amazon’s 3.3 million sq ft campus and Samsung’s US$300 million ($400 million) Silicon Valley headquarters.

In 2020, NBBJ began work on the headquarters of South Korean banking firm Hana Financial Group. The 700,000 sq ft building features a “ribbon park” with public pathways and greenery that runs through the entire building. It was designed to provide an array of spaces and encouraging a restorative work environment.

Robert Mankin, head of workplace design at NBBJ, noted that Covid-19 simply brought to light existing trends of wanting workplaces that reflect the values of the company and more flexible workspaces. He believes companies should listen to the needs of employees to create an “ideal office” – one that is happy, healthy and somewhere people will want to come back to.

Multigenerational usage is also important when designing an office. Each generation has different preferences, so accommodating for all is key. Such is the case for NBBJ’s Shenzhen headquarters for Chinese Tengah EC technology company Vivo, which has workspaces, private and informal group settings, and relaxation areas.

Whether it’s the Hana project or other offices, Mankin’s advice remains the same: remain flexible, listen to employees and implement changes in response to their needs. This is essential to ensure the satisfaction of employees and, by extension, the company’s future.