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June 23, 2015 — A research report released by Johnson Controls Global Workplace Solutions shows how the workplace will be dramatically different in 25 years, with workers in control of when, where, and how they work. These findings have consequences for organizations, corporate real estate management (CREM), and facilities management (FM) functions.
The report, titled "The Smart Workplace 2040," contains eight recommendations for real estate and facility managers to adapt to the changing workplace. They include:
• Adapt service delivery models to fit new requirements. Workers of the future will expect more choice, fluidity, identity, care, experience, and intuitiveness in the places where they work.
• Redefine real estate (RE) models to meet changing demands of employees.
• Redesign working environments to meeting real-time demands.
• Digitize service delivery and support services to focus on human centric services.
Rise of the Workspace Consumer: Meet Nina
To illustrate its vision, the report explores the workplace of the future through the eyes of Nina, a knowledge worker living in 2040. Nina has never known a world without the Internet and has grown up in a world shaped by advances in digital technology. Driven by societal transformation, a premium is placed on her wellbeing. Nina doesn’t commute to work. Her patterns of work are radical compared with today. They aren’t fixed around a place or timetable.
The report describes how Nina’s working environment is split across her home, her eco-campus in the city, and other working hubs to which she has access. She moves between the home (Hive and pHive), co-working spaces ("Trophy Workplace") and offline spaces (The "Faraday Bistro").
Nina has a “flexwork” contract, meaning there is no limit to how little or how much she works as long as the work is done. Her home is a hyper-connected, adaptive environment that responds to her family’s bio-health indicators, while complex software applications suggest what Nina should do to maximize performance. Nina is a new generation of workspace consumers; she chooses exactly where she wants to work.
Research Findings at a Glance
The Smart Workplace 2040 will be radically different and redefined by:
• Adaptable, radical working patterns
• Choice: Workers will decide where and how they want to work.
• Location: "Trophy workplaces" will provide a highly experiential environment.
• Entrepreneurship will be the norm thanks to technological advances.
• Collaboration will be a major driver of enterprise performance.
• Human services will be seen as a premium offering; support services will enhance the experience as users interact with their surroundings.
• Health and wellness will be prioritized over work.
• A heavy reliance on networks and “crowdsourcing” to co-create product ideas.
To read the entire report, click here.
