The needs of modern workspaces have been forever changed. Trends that were bubbling away slowly, such as flexible working hours, working from home, and prioritising health, have been catapulted to the forefront by the pandemic. The last couple of years has seen a shift in not only how workspaces function practically but in what teams and future office workers expect from their employer.
How people work is changing, and what every office needs is space for idea generation, spontaneity, focus, and access to tools to innovate. Workspaces need to be created with both past learnings and the future in mind - an ethos at the very core of our plans for Plus X Innovation.
Workspace With Your Future in Mind
In the UK alone, more than 400,000 startups were formed in 2020. The life of a startup can be turbulent, and leaders and their teams need to be agile and flexible if they want to be able to grow.
When searching for office space, it may feel counterintuitive to get tied into a long contract for an office you aspire to outgrow. Instead, many small businesses are increasingly looking for flexible space that enables your business to grow at its natural pace.
Basing your business somewhere flexible provides your team with options. Open spaces facilitate networking and connection, while quiet areas allow for uninterrupted focus. At Plus X, we see many businesses opting for private office space for their teams, with employees heading off to work across the building as needed for their own working preferences. Not to mention that having access to areas beyond your workspace means you can adapt quickly and impress clients without paying more.
Hybrid working has been accelerated beyond expectation due to the pandemic. With many employees working from home for the best part of two years, the traditional confines of a 9-5 tied to one desk became less of a necessity.
Modern workplace design preempts this need. Varying-sized meeting rooms can be booked for team-wide meetings or one-to-ones, and other sociable areas are perfect for collaboration.
In our innovation hubs, we aim to provide businesses with versatility. Accessible workspaces that aren't restricted by the nine to five, workshops with access to materials for quick prototyping, and media suites that don't cost the earth to hire. Future workers need future workspaces with innovation at their fingertips.
Workspace Designed for Collaboration
Life as a founder can be a solitary one at times, and whilst there is freedom within that, there's nothing quite like the buzz of collaboration. Look for a workspace that provides plenty of opportunities to connect with and pick the brains of experts who have been there and done that at every stage of running a business. Research from Clutch shows that nearly half of workers (47%) value a community atmosphere at the place where they do their work.
Having like-minded people around you means that you have support on tap and an endless amount of freelancers and suppliers, all just one conversation away. Many of the best ideas come from being challenged, and through collaborative workplace design, you should be able to do just that, even if it's a casual chat around the coffee machine.
Workspace That is Good for Your Health
Illness costs the UK workforce an estimated £16 billion, and mental ill-health £2.4 billion per year, meaning creating healthy working environments is crucial to both the wellbeing of your team and your business.
Small businesses may not have the means to invest in too many health-related initiatives for their teams, so basing your business in a hub that can do this for you will make your team feel valued. Harvard Business Review found that the benefits of higher ventilation alone are estimated to be between $6,500 and $7,500 per person per year.
Workspace That Inspires
Being around inspiring people can do wonders for your business. From regular socials where you can get to know your peers, to partner clinics, to our extensive innovation programmes, Plus X provides vast opportunities, connections and prospects for businesses.
61% of workers value an aesthetically pleasing, comfortable workspace, demonstrating that being in inspiring environments adds value to your team, enabling them to improve concentration and produce a higher quality of work. And, this isn't just for millennials, research shows this trend transcends generational preference and helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
Tidy workspaces equal a tidy mind; 'In offices where employees thought cleanliness was lacking, 72% said their surroundings made them less productive.' Plus X takes care of all of the time-consuming parts of running an office for you, including recycling, cleaning and providing fast internet so that you can focus on running your business.
Workspace That Pioneers Change
A good, healthy, modern workspace should be accessible to everyone at every stage of their business journey. By having membership options that go from coworking, all the way up to large offices, there is a place for any and every type of business looking to make its mark on the world.
Our innovation hubs are easily accessible via public transport or on foot, meaning that our members can make greener choices when heading to work.
Our buildings are built with accessibility in mind, and reasonable adjustments are made every step of the way to ensure that barriers for marginalised groups are removed. To bring about systemic change within workplaces, innovation and resilience is needed, which comes from businesses that champion diversity and inclusion. Research by McKinsey found that the most culturally and ethnically diverse companies outperformed less diverse businesses by as much as 36%.
Those who dare to go against the grain, and pioneer change are the ones who thrive and grow. Plus X Innovation strives to be changemakers and be the home of them.
Find out if Plus X innovation hubs could be the workspace for you in Brighton and West London.
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