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Remote working has been hailed as the green option, but there are problems with it. Few of us can afford to dedicate an entire room in the house to being an office, particularly if others are at home. From an environmental perspective, being sat in home offices with lights on, boiling the kettle and having the radio on for company burns energy just for one person.
The office of the future is far less likely to be in our homes than in a shared hub, where technical problems can be dealt with by a shared IT manager and people can gather around the office coffee machines.
Such hubs will eliminate the need to travel. Staff walking to work will be fitter, less stressed and less likely to miss work at the first sign of snow. From companies’ perspectives, it becomes easier to know when someone is working, and from an individual’s perspective, having company and being able to clock off at the end of the day leads to a far healthier work/life balance.
From a green perspective, rather than 20 kettles being boiled three times a day, single cup coffee machines offer a manageable solution, whilst office technology – which might even include and; hot desking’ (sharing desks and machines) – doesn’t need to be set up several times over and could result in better access to newer technologies.
These hubs may even offer shared transport to bring in those who are further afield, offering greater job prospects to those living in remote areas. Hubs could even provide a solution for people being left behind by poor broadband access: with such a concentration of people, the economics of providing high-powered broadband become feasible.
Around them will spring services – the local farmers can offer up fresh foods to take home far more easily than a trip to the supermarket, meaning that the food we take home is fresher and healthier, and supports the local economy. Our currently endangered library services could be located at the hubs, along with and; Internet cafes’ that allow access to the internet to people within local communities who might otherwise be without. Training can be shared across companies.
Those who are starting their own businesses will be able to access shared services and advice, reducing the chance of business failures. The benefit to society of businesses succeeding will create a virtuous cycle, offering opportunities, help, and resources to those who might otherwise never have had the knowledge and experience to take their great idea to the outside world.
Being huddled around a shared coffee machine in an office hub will offer support and community, company costs will be reduced, and the environment will benefit. The sooner we start thinking about how to deliver the benefits, the better.
