For millions of office staff, the Covid-19 pandemic turned the working week on its head when working from home became the new normal.
There has been a permanent shift in how we think about the working day with plenty of businesses now operating remotely and embracing new models, like the four-day working week.
But while there are organisations saving millions on their estate budgets, there are others that have been investing in their office spaces to make them more attractive than ever.
Linda Morey-Burrows, Founder and Principal Director of MoreySmith, has been designing leading workplace projects across the UK and Europe for more than 30 years.
She said that employers will no longer put up with a commute bookending the day for the sake of turning up in a soulless office block.
And it is a shift that has already been underway as staff have embraced technology that allows them to work anywhere.
She said: “If people are going to come into the office, they want somewhere that supports their wellbeing, facilitates a flexible working culture and makes space for socialising. Why would you go back to commuting and working in a grey call centre environment? People want environments that put their needs first, that are colourful, sociable and suitable for multi-generations to enjoy and collaborate in."
What's coming next?
Linda said that outdoor terraces, gardens, on-site bars, cafes and quiet contemplative areas are the new normal.
In one co-working space in Paris, Linda's team we introduced a rooftop allotment for employees to garden on their lunch breaks.
She said: "Workplaces have to go above and beyond what people can get at home both functionally and technologically. Inspirational environments are crucial for talent attraction and retention and the future of office design is more important today than ever before”
Here is the BusinessLive pick of the UK's coolest workspaces
The one with the dance floor
Milk Education, The Advocate Group and Aspion, Old Hall Street, Liverpool
This team of recruitment specialists really felt the impact of repeated lockdowns on its employees and decided to use it as an opportunity to re-invent its office space to bring back the sense of togetherness that had been lost.
To re-instate the social side of life, they installed the dance floor with disco lights - believed to be a world's first -podcast rooms for inspirational time out and a Gucci themed boardroom.
Emma Walsh, Group Operations Manager, explained that the business had always had a focus on staff wellbeing and over the years has taken on six rescue dogs as office dogs, decorating the office for themed days, installing a champagne wall to celebrate success and drafting in acrobats and rap artists to energise staff.
And she said that the dance floor is not just a fad.
Emma said: "We are a sociable bunch and we thought it would be good to install a place where we could dance and have a few drinks after work.
And during the day it doubles as a presentation area.
"We are not a party hard culture, we are very professional at what we do but we wanted to bring back that sense of family that we felt we lost during the pandemic.
"They say that you don't come to work to make friends but we say that you absolutely do."
The business has also been on a growth trajectory, upping its staff count from 33 to 80.
"It's a very exciting time for us going from a small to a medium sized organisation and we like to look after and support our staff.
"During the pandemic, it was very hard for people working in isolation. Having someone next to you to talk to and celebrate in your success is invaluable."
The converted Jumbo Jet
PYTCH, Skyline Park, Bristol
The live events and production company decided to buy the Boeing 727 to use as its new base when it converted its old office space during the pandemic. As a live events company, it had to quickly diversify when lockdown restrictions put paid to its main revenue source. Instead it converted its old warehouse and office into a new recording studio for film, events, adverts and TV.
The business' founder (now non-executive) and landlord had always dreamt of having a private jet, but couldn't justify the expense on something so polluting or un-useful, so he went with the next best thing; upcycling one into something commercially useful.
"We call the plane PYTCHAir," explained Chelsea Hopkins, Head of Brand & Marketing
The plane was done up as a private, luxury jet in the early 80s and retains its complete interior with cock-pit, master bedroom, crew quarters and lounge area.
Chelsea explained: "The bedroom, which - alongside having a bed in it - has two upright chairs, a small table and a sofa. This makes it an ideal, if extremely unusual, room for small meetings. Into the main room we have a long 'boardroom' style table, two sofas and another rotating chair on the left. We hotdesk here too, and use it for more focused meetings, training and quiet work.
"The crew quarters is great for hotdesking and quiet work and as it has a door so we can have 1-1 meetings in there in relative privacy. The cockpit is intact, but mostly used to confuse people in the back of video calls and for selfie opportunities.
"Working on board is great fun, it's quiet, comfortable as you'd expect for something designed for distances and is always a talking point on video calls. It becomes 'normal' for us after a while and staff have to remind themselves that it's actually something a bit weird to have when we have guests.
"It can get quite cold in the winter months though so we have heaters dotted about and if you really don't want to be disturbed you can even shut the stairs entrance."
Better than a private members' club
CBRE, Henrietta House, London
This new UK HQ for global property firm CBRE has a bar, a university-style library, glamourous roof terraces and private dining rooms.
Designed by design and architecture studio, MoreySmith, it had a brief to set the standard for future workplace design and flexible working patterns.
With space for 2,000 employees, it has a university-style library at the top of the building, in a space that had previously been used to house the service plant, with bespoke furniture and booths for quiet work.
There are private dining rooms and a bar at the top of the new build on the seventh floor for intimate client entertainment and events with large sliding glass doors opening up to a generous roof terrace offering unrivalled views of London’s skyline.
There is a green living wall and multiple garden terraces feature BBQs for employees to use for al fresco social events in summer.
The centre of the building has a cafe and on the lower floors is a wellbeing centre where staff can take part in spin classes during their working day. This space also includes cycle storage, lockers, drying rooms and shower provision in the basement, replacing the old carpark.
The one that looks like a boutique hotel
Rise at Seven, St Paul's Place, Sheffield
The global creative SEO agency has 102 employees across the UK and US and has designed its new office space in Sheffield as a 'pink paradise' that looks like a boutique hotel or exclusive night club.
Will Hobson, PR + London Director said that Rise at Seven wanted to continue to expand its physical presence and create office spaces that excite staff and supercharge growth.
He said: "Having an office space is super important to our team as collaboration and creative freedom are core parts of what we do, plus it's difficult to build a solid connection and inspire confidence with each other through solely WFH.
"For us - the office operates as a learning and social hub, where we get together for training opportunities, company updates, social events, and team catch-ups. However, we still offer a hybrid approach as we can see the benefits of offering flexibility as we move out of the pandemic."
Rise at Seven's original downstairs office in Sheffield had plenty of unusual additions, from a Gemma Collins cut-out to a bathtub full of awards.
In designing the upstairs space, it took inspiration from two of its biggest clients - PrettyLittleThing and Boohoo.
Will explained: "When designing the new space, we opted for a pink paradise that people want to go to. Since we wanted the team to enjoy coming into the office, we also created spaces for them to relax - whether it’s socialising in the bar space or lounging on the egg chairs."
Somewhere to stay after hours
Arax, 280 Bishopsgate, London
Due to be unveiled later this year, this new office space by property investors Arax has been designed by MoreySmith. A building that straddles both Shoreditch and The City, it will have an impressive reception with a central bar that will be used for coffee by day and social events by night.
This one has a treehouse and a herd of sheep
Moneypenny HQ, Wrexham
The HQ for call and live chat experts Moneypenny was designed in 2016 after the directors asked its employees what their perfect office would look like and made their wish list a reality.
Joanna Swash group CEO at Moneypenny said: “As a company we’ve never done anything the conventional way. So when we made the decision to build a new headquarters, we asked ourselves how we can make sure our people will be happy there? The answer was simple - ask them. We didn’t want to create a great workplace based on someone else’s vision of brilliant; we wanted it to be somewhere that our people love.”
The striking 91,000sq ft building - boasts a treehouse meeting room, its own village pub, a sun terrace and a triple height atrium with stadium seating and a restaurant offering free breakfast and fruit. A herd of sheep graze on the central steps.
The office is surrounded by seven acres of landscaped grounds with nature trails, a duck pond and orchards with picturesque countryside views.
Remarkably, the entire development cost the same price as a standard brick ‘box’ office too.
Joanna said: “We provided our architects, AEW, with the same budget we’d been quoted to build a standard office and said ‘right, show us how we can create something amazing’. It was a challenge, but we ripped up the rulebook and that’s exactly what they did.
Each element of the office is based on the feedback from Moneypenny's employees. Members of staff are able to personalise their desk space and even control their own lighting.
Likewise, location was a key consideration with employees opting for an idyllic semi-rural setting rather than a city-centre postcode. A dislike of air con and strip lighting was also made clear, so the company installed a natural ventilation system and huge floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the building with sunlight.
In addition, healthy food was a reoccurring theme so staff perks now include a free breakfast, free fruit, and subsidised lunches with a salad bar. Other suggestions from employees included quiet reading nooks to curl up with a book and posh loos.
The brainy one with Netflix
No Brainer, Quayside House, Warrington
The award-winning PR, SEO and content agency No Brainer was created around the idea of left brain and right brain thinking and it has used the same concept for its office space.
The right side of the office has been designed to encourage thought, logic and processes, and where the team’s working desks are based, including meeting spaces and brainstorming areas. While the left side of the office is all about creativity, ideas and fun, including a large team area for lunch, pool table, dart board and bar/sofa area.
Staff say the open plan space means there’s a great atmosphere and a real buzz around the office, with different teams working on multiple campaigns. From account team catch-ups in the sofa area and client meetings in the board room, to someone tucking into their lunch at the bar watching Netflix or enjoying a game of pool, there's a space with multiple areas to enjoy both work and play.
Lee Cullen, co-founder and director at No Brainer, said: “That shift to flexible working, and the option to work from home has meant that our office space isn’t always filled with people Monday-Friday, but that doesn’t mean that our team shouldn’t have a fantastic working space to utilise when they come into the office. We understand that working from home can get overwhelming for some people, and having that separate space to come and work from remains really important for our team.
“The space allows us to make our clients and visitors feel at home as well as ensuring the team have everything they need to be creative and productive, with designated meeting spaces and areas for brainstorming and entertaining.
“When clients or new business prospects step into the office for the first time, they’re always impressed by the space we’ve created. It reflects who we are as an agency and it’s a space that the whole team enjoys being in.”
What about a golfing green? Got it.
Xledger, Tower Wharf, Bristol
One of Bristol’s fastest growing businesses, Xledger has office culture central to its organisation.
At the end of last year – between lockdowns - the Xledger team moved into 11,000 square feet of newly renovated grade A office space at Tower Wharf and set about creating a 'destination hub' for its hybrid-working employees. The new design features a host of employee and client breakout areas, meeting rooms and entertainment spaces including a bar and a roof terrace, with a golfing green on the roof.
Disco balls and DJ booths
Defected Records, Curtain Road, London
Renovated throughout the pandemic, Defected Records launched its new hybrid office/creative hub in September 2021. The new space serves as both a collaborative workspace and creative and networking hub, welcoming employees, fans and industry creatives through its doors.. Led by London design agency Brinkworth, the new hub is decked out with disco balls, magazine covers and neon lights.
On the lower ground, floor studio and event space The Basement plays host to radio shows, live DJ sets and studio sessions. Featuring a one-of-a-kind mural by artist Haris Nukem and allowing for high quality music recording, streaming and content creation, the new space embodies everything the label is about – community and innovation.
Wez Saunders, Managing Director, said: " By building these on-site facilities, we are able to host a number of collaborative projects including writing camps and production sessions in our studios while documenting the journey and showcasing our existing and aspiring creatives. It’s super exciting to be working and creating from the same space as we continue to provide for talent while immersing employees in the workings of a fully-fledged label and media-house."
