Digital Workplaces and Office Space

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to design digital workplaces or “offices in the cloud.” These environments enable companies to allow flexible and remote working for their teams. I also teach the digital literacy, fluency, communication and collaboration skills needed to work in these modern technology-rich workplaces.

This bit of data from a study by Norm Miller, Professor of Real Estate Finance at the University of San Diego.

He broke down the office space used by the average US worker since 2000. The data was compiled by looking at 54 of the largest markets in the US. As you can see office space peaked at the end of 2009 – and has since dropped by 50%, with new leases in 2013 averaging just 17m2 per person.

I believe that this trend will continue as more and more companies design and deploy digital workplaces which allow for flexible and remote working. Added to the impact that digital workplaces are having on the need for traditional office space is the trend for some restaurants, hotels and banks to allow their space to be utilized for co-working. This flexibility is very appealing to an organization whether it is expanding or contracting.

The way we work and from where is being completely redesigned.