Unlocking Productivity: How Activity-Based Working Benefits Businesses and Employees

In today's evolving workplace landscape, organizations are continuously searching for innovative approaches to maximize productivity while enhancing employee satisfaction. As the traditional open office concept continues to present challenges for the modern workforce, a more flexible solution has emerged: activity-based working.

What Is Activity-Based Working?

Activity-based working (ABW) is a workplace strategy that provides employees with various settings designed for specific activities rather than assigning fixed desks. Similar to the atmosphere of a coffee shop, an activity-based workplace offers a variety of spaces: quiet zones for focused work, collaborative areas for team projects, and casual settings for informal discussions.

This approach recognizes that employees perform different types of tasks throughout their workday and need appropriate environments to support each activity. Rather than being confined to a single desk regardless of the task at hand, workers can choose the space that best suits their current needs.

Key Benefits of Activity-Based Working

1. Real Estate Optimization and Cost Reduction

For organizations facing pressure to maximize their real estate investments, activity-based working provides a practical solution for space management. By implementing shared desking strategies and flexible workspaces, companies can significantly reduce their real estate footprint while accommodating the same number of employees.

This approach is becoming increasingly important as accounting standards now require companies to list office leases as assets and liabilities on financial statements, making space optimization a priority for facilities teams. With activity-based working, organizations can:

• Reduce the total square footage needed per employee
• Eliminate costs associated with permanently assigned but frequently empty desks
• Repurpose underutilized space for amenities that enhance the employee experience
• Better manage the higher costs associated with urban office locations

For growing companies, this flexibility means being able to accommodate more employees without necessarily leasing additional space.

2. Enhanced Employee Performance and Collaboration

Flexibility in workplace settings correlates directly with improved productivity. According to research, employees with greater workplace flexibility tend to be happier with their jobs and demonstrate higher performance levels.

Activity-based working naturally encourages collaboration across departments by removing physical barriers between teams. When employees can choose where they work throughout the day, they're more likely to interact with colleagues from different departments, creating opportunities for knowledge sharing and innovation that might not occur in traditional office layouts.

For remote or hybrid employees, activity-based workplaces with desk reservation systems are particularly valuable. Visiting team members can easily book desks near relevant colleagues for the duration of their stay, maximizing the effectiveness of their in-office time.

Modern collaborative technologies like project management platforms and cloud-based document sharing further support this flexible approach, allowing teams to remain productive regardless of their physical location. In fact, studies show that three out of five workers believe they don't need to be in a specific location to be productive.

3. Improved Recruitment and Retention

In today's competitive talent market, workplace design has become a significant factor in attracting and retaining employees. More than half of the current workforce—predominantly millennials—favor flexible work arrangements when considering job opportunities.

Research indicates that 62% of U.S. office workers would prefer their next job to offer a mix of private or semi-private workstations rather than a completely open office layout. Activity-based working addresses this preference by providing various workspace options to suit different needs throughout the day.

The impact on retention can be substantial. Studies by Deloitte suggest that flexible working can improve retention rates by up to 100% while also boosting employee engagement. The physical setup of an activity-based workplace creates a more dynamic environment with a sense of equality across roles, as everyone has access to the same variety of spaces based on their current needs rather than their position in the organizational hierarchy.

Implementing Activity-Based Working Successfully

While the benefits of activity-based working are compelling, successful implementation requires thoughtful planning and execution:

1. Assess Current Workplace Patterns

Before redesigning your workplace, analyze how your teams currently use space. Understand which activities dominate their workday and what types of environments would best support these activities. This data analysis forms the foundation for an effective activity-based workplace design.

2. Create Diverse Work Settings

A successful activity-based workplace includes a variety of spaces:

• Focus zones for concentrated individual work
• Collaborative areas for team projects and brainstorming
• Meeting rooms of various sizes for formal discussions
• Casual spaces for informal conversations and breaks
• Quiet areas for reading or tasks requiring minimal distraction

Each space should be designed with appropriate acoustics, furniture, and technology to support its intended purpose.

3. Develop Clear Guidelines

Establish protocols for using shared spaces to ensure everyone understands how the new environment works. This includes reservation systems for bookable spaces, cleanliness standards for shared desks, and etiquette for different zones.

4. Provide Necessary Technology

Support mobility within the workplace with appropriate technology:

• Desk reservation software to manage shared spaces
• Mobile devices that allow work from anywhere in the office
• Cloud-based file storage for easy access to documents
• Wireless connectivity throughout all work areas
• Video conferencing capabilities in meeting spaces

5. Lead by Example

Leadership adoption is crucial for successful implementation. When managers embrace activity-based working by using different spaces based on their activities, it encourages the rest of the organization to follow suit.

The Future of Work Is Flexible

As organizations continue to adapt to changing work patterns and employee expectations, activity-based working offers a practical approach that benefits both businesses and their workforce. By providing environments designed for specific activities rather than assigning fixed desks, companies can optimize their real estate investments while creating more engaging and productive workplaces.

The traditional open office model with its associated challenges is giving way to more thoughtful, flexible approaches that recognize the varied nature of knowledge work. Activity-based working acknowledges that employees perform different types of tasks throughout their day and provides appropriate settings for each.

For organizations looking to enhance productivity, reduce real estate costs, and improve employee satisfaction, activity-based working represents a strategic approach to workplace design that supports the distributed workforce of today and tomorrow.

By creating environments that empower employees to choose the right space for each task, companies can build more dynamic, collaborative, and effective workplaces that attract and retain top talent while optimizing their physical footprint.