“The Modern World We Live In Was Designed and Executed From An Office.”
And here’s history on how we found “The freedom to choose how we’d like to work,” as stated by David Heinemeier Hansson.
By Tremis Skeete for Product Coalition
In today’s modern “post-pandemic” world where we all know at least one person who works from home or anywhere they choose — there’s an ironic yet curious idea going around.
Let’s have an office party and celebrate the creation of… the office!
I’m just kidding, but in what you’re about to read, it may prompt you to contemplate how far we’ve come as a society when it comes to having access to options for how we want to work.
In a LinkedIn post, CTO of Basecamp David Heinemeier Hansson in the face of possible chagrin, challenges notions that offices represent outmoded ways of working, according to telecommuting advocates. “Because I find it so nonsensical to hear remote-work advocates proclaim the universal, moral superiority of abolishing the office,” He explains.
David points to the office’s role in the fact that now more than ever, there are many opportunities for people to find careers where they can potentially work from anywhere in the world.
History of Office Design
In light of David’s post, we wanted to surface a few events that led to our current ways of working, so we performed some historical research on the evolution of office design. Here’s what we’ve uncovered.
According to research from K2 Space, a UK-based design consultancy, we found the following account of what’s reportedly the first office:
“The first office building was built in 1726 in London and became known as The Old Admiralty Office. It served to handle the masses of the paperwork generated by the Royal Navy and included meeting spaces and the Admiralty Board Room, which is still used today.”
Source: K2 Space
“This was followed swiftly in 1729 by the construction of East India House on Leadenhall Street in London, which acted as the HQ for East India Trading Company and its legions of workers. By now, the advent of a centralised concentrated space to administer increasing amounts of paperwork had gained traction, with new offices popping up throughout London.”
Source: K2 Space
The 1900s…
During the rise of the first “modern offices,” several practices, technologies, and movements emerged, which spawned an awareness of what workers needed in these spaces for businesses to succeed:
“The earliest modern offices were remarkable for their scientific approach and emphasised efficiency and the adoption of a rigid, regimented office layout that resulted in workers sitting at endless rows of desks with managers located in encircling offices where they could observe.”
Source: K2 Space
“These early, open plan offices which grew in popularity throughout the early 20th Century, followed the principles of ‘Taylorism’, a methodology created by mechanical engineer, Frank Taylor, who sought to maximise industrial efficiency. There has been much criticism of Taylor’s approach, as it failed to take into consideration human and social elements and focused exclusively on ensuring employers gained maximum productivity from their staff.”
“At the same time, large skyscrapers designed to accommodate numerous companies and their staff had begun to appear in cities across the USA, and in some parts of the UK.”
Source: K2 Space
“This new architectural phenomenon [skyscrapers] was made possible by the invention of electric lighting, air conditioning and the telegraph system which meant that offices no longer had to be situated beside factories.”
“However, it was the birth of the lift and of steel frame construction, that ushered in a radically new way of working and consequently heralded the growth of office design as a discipline, and so the history of office design entered a new period.”
Source: K2 Space
1980s to The 2000s…
As office developers continued to learn from their successes and blunders — we fast forward to the 1980s where it’s remembered by many as an oppressive period for in-office workers, particularly in “cubicle farms”:
“The availability of cheap, but effective modular walls alongside an increased focus on profitability at the expense of work conditions are seen as key factors behind the complete shift in office design, suffered throughout the 1980s.”
“The history of office design at this point digressed and became a ‘stack them highly; sell them cheap’ model, and entered what is now widely acknowledged as one of the more depressive (if not, the most) periods since it had emerged as a discipline.”
Source: K2 Space
From The 2010s to 2020s…
Thirty plus years later, we have many instances of flexible and remote work environments such as co-working spaces and hot desks. These places reveal how features such as access to natural light, quality food and beverages, and break out spaces are now standard as opposed to a luxury.
We also can’t ignore the breakthrough circular design of the Apple Park “Spaceship” headquarters in California. It’s remarkable structure rests on over 170 acres, reportedly in harmony with natural landscapes around it.
Apple Park also includes access to fitness and wellness spaces, a restaurant and café, communal spaces for collaboration, and if needed, private office spaces for focused work activities. In the eyes of architects and designers, it’s viewed as one of the most beautiful office campuses in the world.
There’s more research we could share but we believe the evidence presented makes great points. When it comes to having choices between working in offices or remotely, we’ve arguably made significant strides.
The 2020 Pandemic to 2023…
The 2020 pandemic led to isolation and sometimes loneliness for many people. And while the pandemic created opportunities for individuals who do better work away from noisy work environments and in isolation — it’s obvious that as human beings, we’re not all the same in this respect.
Social and psychological challenges aside — many people discovered opportunities to define themselves in alternative ways that didn’t exist prior to the pandemic. And this goes beyond just eliminating the travel time from home to work, and instead, work from home remotely.
Some found the time to build better relationships with family. Others started side businesses. Some even found the time to accomplish goals where if they still had to go to the office five days a week, it would have been otherwise difficult or impossible to accomplish.
By the time the pandemic ended in 2023, people adapted to remote ways of working and achieved great levels of productivity. However for others, it was a struggle. They missed the social interaction and other qualitative facets the office environment offers.
Both sides of the debate make great points. Perhaps that’s why in 2023, we see a resurgence of sorts in office cubicle culture. And cubicle culture is not just making a comeback, it’s also a reinvention. It seems like the pandemic has created a new value proposition — personalized cubicles.
2023: Rise of Personalized Cubicles…
If there’s anything the pandemic taught us, is the value of having our own space. And while we do like to have our own space, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we want to spend time in the same space, all the time.
Many employees who’ve returned to the office, understand this distinction, and have found new value in having an office space.
People who’ve returned to the office have rediscovered how to create their “home away from home” or “quiet space” and personalize their cubicles, in ways similar to how we’d personalize clothing or instagram profiles.
Jolena Podolsky at Simon and Schuster is a great example, for according to an article written by Ellen Rosen in the New York Times, Jolena finds great value in having access to quiet spaces at home and the office. She expresses love for her office space by applying a comfortable “disco” and “pink-themed” home decor to her cubicle.
For others who have love for the outdoors, they’ve also found ways to bring the outdoors to indoors within their cubicle. Lucas Mundt, according to the New York Times, with some ingenuity, combined with laminate wood floors and wood-themed room materials — he performed minor decor and renovation work on his cubicle and created a faux wood cabin.
Thanks to Lucas’ initiative, he inspired his boss and possibly other business leaders around the globe to give their employees monetary allowances, so they could design their own experiences in their respective cubicles.
Personalized experiences are very popular with consumers because they are trendy and they help people connect to what inspires them and what matters to them the most. If that kind of inspiration can indeed boost productivity in the office, then providing these allowances are worthwhile.
Perhaps office designers, whether they’re professional or amateur, are just following the rising trend, and offices will continue to transform and expand in their variations. And it seems like depending on the time, the cost, and the prevailing wants and needs of companies and employees — these changing trends over time will drive how companies design how they work as businesses, and how systems and office spaces are created to meet the expectations of everyone involved.
And no matter the outcomes, one thing is made clear after over one hundred years of design — the office will always be subject to change, but it’s not going anywhere and will never become obsolete.
It’s About Having Options
We’re all aware of the positions on this debate. Offices are viewed as the root cause of employees lacking job autonomy, creativity, and productivity.
Advocates of the office claim that it’s the other way around, and working remotely is simply not doing good business.
In response, David asserts that in light of the past pandemic and other factors, we can accept beyond reasonable doubts that telecommuting is a recognized way of working.
So ask yourself — why make this debate into cases of “us versus them,” when today we have opportunities to collaborate as “us and them”?
While the COVID pandemic represents a tipping point for making “work from anywhere” a reality, there are organizations around the world that remain committed to in-office work cultures — and that’s okay.
What’s the resolution?
Let’s recognize that it’s all about having options.
Let’s appreciate the work models that co-exist in society today, and now it’s up to you to find an environment that fits you — whether it’s working in the office, remotely, or a hybrid of both. It’s your choice.
Read a copy of David’s LinkedIn post below to find out more:
You’re never getting me back into an office. I credit much of my career to escaping that place in the early 2000s. It wasn’t until I found the prolonged solitude of working from home that I could consistently make big leaps in my creative process. The pandemic taught millions the same lesson. And yet — AND YET! — I’m going to come to the defense of the office.
Because I find it so nonsensical to hear remote-work advocates proclaim the universal, moral superiority of abolishing the office, as I did listening to those who couldn’t envision productive work from home just a few minutes ago. Let’s be real here. The modern world we live in was designed and executed from an office. It’s a perfectly legitimate way of working.
It may not be your preferred way of working. It sure as hell isn’t mine! But let’s not make the same mistake of those who couldn’t fathom how we at 37signals built a successful, long-term, and prosperous company for twenty years by being remote (that’s why we literally wrote a book on the joys of remote working!).
The remote workers of the world have already won. There are now endless options to choose from if you want to work from home. Don’t spoil that victory by becoming an entitled, totalitarian whiner who won’t let some companies make different choices than the one you now happen to like the very best.
I salute Apple, for example, for sticking to their in-person culture now that the pandemic is long gone. They’re making that choice knowing that some, talented portion of their workforce will leave as a consequence, yet have the confidence that others will fill those chairs. Isn’t this what we wanted? The freedom to choose how we’d like to work by picking between a plentitude of companies offering the style of our preference?
This is what frustrates me about so many technical and social movements. It’s not enough to carve out a clear passing in the forest of options for you and your compatriots to frolic in peace. No, the battle must rage on long after it’s won. For the love of all that is holy, learn to take the win!
Special thanks to Jon Matheson, Janine Baker and Sheila Murphy for their research and input which contributed to the development of this article.
