Big Offices to Be a Thing of the Past?
In the News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52467965
A lot of sectors have been downsizing offices for a while now, with remote working becoming more common place, and it will indeed have an impact on the food trade
But I certainly don’t and won’t miss the environment. The places I’ve enjoyed working the most were small, intimate offices, holding perhaps no more than a dozen people. I’ve found there’s always problems in larger offices, with people sniping about other people’s food choices, etc
Do you normally work in an office? Do you miss it?
I can't say I miss it. I miss the banter a little, but I dont miss people shouting in their headset or across tables to other colleagues, people doing remarks on what I'm wearing or eating, and I start earlier at home so finish earlier which suits me nicely. I can also wear harem pants all day (gonna have a reality check when I try my jeans next 
) and zero make up.
Lol yes not needing to work out what to wear for the day has been great! Not being around other people to see what I currently look like has had its advantages 
The office I was working from was far too big anyway but a lot of these companies sign up to a long term lease (10 years I believe for my office) so they'll be stuck with all the space for now. I certainly think offices will get smaller in the long term, yes. This period has been a good test of trust in both technology and people working from home.
it is definitely time that big offices downsize as it's not effective or productive to have that many people stuck in one building - whenever you have a fire drill, you can see why
With the social distancing that we all need to adhere to perhaps the large offices will stay but may only have 10 people when they used to hold 100? 
If that’s the case, businesses will most likely scrap office buildings altogether to save on expenses, perhaps just using shared workspaces in the future
I used to work in big corporate businesses in London and the better companies had already embraced working from home many, many years ago. It seems that the SMEs are only just catching up now (when they were forced).
There is an old thought process, by some companies, that employees cannot be trusted to work from home. I think, on the whole, most people can be trusted to work from home and can be more efficient too. Less time travelling, better work life balance and a happier workforce.
I do miss the banter of the office, now that I mostly work from home. However, teams communicate through Skype, Zoom, Blue Jeans, Google Teams and a plethora of other video conferencing platforms; it's easy to communicate.
If there is something good to come out of the pandemic, this could be one positive action for so many.
Xx
yes the advanced tech has definitely helped make things easier, but you’re right about that face to face banter - that can never be replaced
This is an issue our offices are facing. I work in the public sector and we have large offices in central London and when we travel there we are expected to take our latops and 'hot desk' so just connect to a screen, keyboard and mouse that's probably been used by lots of different people throughout the day. Tables are long so you are sat either side and facing people you don't know. And before you have even found a desk you have been crammed in a lift with 20 other people.
I’ve always hated hot desking, particularly as you will never feel settled, and they never want you to personalise your desk with anything. But I’m sure there’s going to be changes to that
Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community
Chief Bargain Hunter
