Activity-based working (ABW) is transforming modern offices and workspaces. Implementing ABW can optimize your office layout to boost employee engagement, collaboration, and productivity. But what exactly is ABW? In this comprehensive guide, we'll define activity-based working. We'll unpack its origins and benefits, discuss implementation challenges, and overview the spatial features your office needs to make ABW work. With the right strategy, you can create an activity-based workspace where your teams thrive.
ABW is a workplace strategy that moves away from traditional static dedicated spaces and desks. Instead, it creates work zones supporting different tasks, working styles, and employee needs. These include quiet rooms for focused, heads-down work, open team areas for collaboration, informal lounges for refreshment breaks, and more. Office workers can select their workspaces dynamically to match their activities. For example, you may opt for a standing desk in a quiet zone when you have calls or need to focus. You'll utilize one of the collaboration hubs or meeting rooms for team projects in your hybrid offices. The work guides your choice of space, not a preassigned seat. This work model increases workplace choice, flexibility, and accessibility for all employees. It breaks down the traditional divide between employee spaces and management offices. It gives people more autonomy over where and how they work based on the task at hand, introducing diverse work settings that cater to the modern workforce.
American architect Robert Luchetti first articulated the concept of ABW in 1983. He introduced the idea of the office as a collection of "activity settings" tailored to different types of work, such as typing or conducting meetings. The term "activity-based working" was later coined by Dutch consultant Erik Veldhoen in the 1990s. Veldhoen, through his company Veldhoen + Company, partnered with Interpolis, a major insurance firm in the Netherlands, to implement ABW across their offices. This partnership marked a significant milestone in the adoption of ABW. It demonstrated the practical application of the activity-based office concept and its benefits. This dynamic approach to office layouts soon gained global traction. Tech leaders like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft adopted activity-based work environments. Now, the pandemic has further accelerated ABW adoption. Along with the rise of remote and hybrid work, ABW makes post-pandemic office spaces work for hybrid teams.
However, effectively transitioning to and managing an ABW environment also poses some challenges:
While the move to ABW does require effort, careful change management and staged rollouts ease the transition. Most crucially, leadership must role model the spirit of ABW for others to follow. The rewards of increased agility, connectivity, and performance make the journey worthwhile.
Successfully embracing ABW depends on four vital pillars working in tandem:
Think beyond desks and chairs when envisioning your ABW workplace. Consider how your physical environment holistically impacts experience. Key elements include:
More than infrastructure, ABW requires a cultural shift toward workplace mobility and flexibility. Critical strategies include:
Essentially, the fixed mindset of “my desk, my office” needs to evolve to “our space, our culture.”
A typical day at an ABW workspace involves employees choosing from several locations based on their tasks and mindset. So, consider these aspects for optimized sensory experiences:
When sensory experiences intersect seamlessly with functional spaces, employee comfort, and performance reach new peaks. You can get this combination right with some user testing and tweaks.
The versatility demanded by an activity-based environment warrants training employees in new ways of working:
With learning interventions woven closely into the workplace transformation journey, employee confidence, capability, and satisfaction reach greater heights.
Your activity-based office layout must blend collaboration, concentration, and community spaces seamlessly. Key features include:
Ensure space allotment follows the latest occupancy data so resource availability keeps pace with ever-evolving usage.
ABW promotes the autonomy, movement, and choice modern professionals expect. Rethinking your ABW design around supporting diverse work activities can pay dividends through the following:
The result is a hybrid workplace ecosystem optimized for team and individual productivity, enabling people to deliver results.
By understanding the core ethos of ABW, you can begin your journey implementing this model's advantages. However, always focus on stakeholder readiness, thoughtful space planning, and sustaining adoption through learning. In time, your workspace and workforce will transform.