With automation devouring repetitive white-collar work as well as manual jobs, the opportunities of the future will lie in activities that require collaboration, creativity and mental agility. At the same time, technology is changing how we work.
“Not too long ago we were effectively chained to our desks by phone cords, computer cables and paperwork,” explains Natalie Lau, a Senior Space Planner with UTS’s Facilities Management Operations team. “Smart phones, laptops and digital information have literally freed us from our desks.”
Activity-based working
Liberation from the need to sit at a desk all day, as well as the dismantling of silos in favour of teamwork, has begun to influence workspace design. Instead of assigned desks, workspaces increasingly comprise a suite of work settings, each customised to support different activities.
“Our tasks don’t all involve sitting in front of a computer doing focused work,” Lau says. “We attend meetings, collaborate with colleagues and take phone calls where we need peace and quiet. So it makes sense to offer a variety of spaces designed for particular tasks, to help us get the most out of our day.”
As well as conventional workstations and meeting rooms, such workspaces might also include collaborative ‘pods’ for group work, quiet rooms for reflection and focused tasks, break-out spaces and social kitchens.
Known as activity-based working – or ABW, for short – this approach has already been embraced by corporate Australia. The public sector isn’t far behind. Before coming to UTS, Lau helped introduce the concept at the NSW Department of Finance, Services & Innovation, and soon after, other government departments were clamouring to know more.
Universities have been a little slower off the mark, but in what is believed to be a first for the higher education sector in Australia, UTS’s Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) has recently rolled out ABW to its staff, following the introduction of ABW to higher degree research students (HDRs) in Health, Arts and Social Sciences, and Engineering and IT.
ABW and the ISF experience
“What was really unexpected – and very pleasing – was that ISF took the initiative to come to Space Planning with their idea for a more ‘mobile’ workspace,” Lau says. “They were already working in quite a fluid way and were after a workspace to support that. “The ISF Director, Professor Stuart White, led from the front, even giving up his office as a sign of his commitment.”
For trailblazing ISF, ABW was a no-brainer. Apart from better supporting work tasks, ABW allowed ISF to do more with less – important for a unit that, as Professor White says, “lives and breathes sustainability”.
As he explains:
“ISF is ‘home’ to an increasing number of sustainability researchers and practitioners from a diverse range of disciplines, and recent growth meant that we needed more space to breathe. An ABW environment allowed us to optimise the space we have.”
Offering greater space-efficiency than more conventional workspaces, ABW united the team on one floor in Building 10, rather than fragmenting staff across two floors. The smaller physical footprint also uses less energy and needs fewer fixtures and fittings, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint. With staff encouraged to move from space to space, it’s also a more healthy space.
The biggest challenge for Professor White and his team was to convince staff that ABW would enhance their workday experience.
“We wanted to be inclusive and address all concerns before the move to ABW, in order to minimise any stress resulting from this way of working. This took time, sensitivity and clear communication, with Business Manager Dan Gollan, Research Principal and Architect Kerryn Wilmot, Operations Managers Suzanne Cronan and Helena Loader, as well as Administrative Assistant Jenny Hernandez, instrumental in helping make the move a success.”
And has it been a success? “Our staff are embracing this new way of working,” says Professor White. “The benefits for their highly mobile methods of research and collaboration are there for all to see.”
ABW in action
So, how does ABW work in practice? Dr Melita Jazbec, Senior Research Consultant with ISF, explains how she makes the most of it.
“I plan ahead so I know what meetings and activities the day holds. Everyone in ISF has a UTS-issued laptop and I set mine up in the most appropriate space when I arrive each day. For example, today I needed to prepare a presentation, so I opted for some focused time in a quiet room before heading into a meeting.”
Conventional meeting rooms with whiteboards and projectors are supplemented by more informal gathering places – including a large collaborative kitchen where the interview for this piece takes place. Open-plan booths support collaborative work, while for individual tasks, height-adjustable workstations are available, which Dr Jazbec plans to make use of later in the day. They accommodate a mix of single and double monitors and are unassigned, meaning it’s a ‘first in, best-dressed’ arrangement, with staff clearing the desk when they leave it.
For those who have a tendency to accumulate paperwork, ABW can be liberating, says Dr Jazbec.
“Initially, the idea of not having an assigned desk worried me but it’s actually quite freeing. I didn’t want to carry a lot of stuff around so I made a conscious decision to print less. It’s not only great for sustainability, but starting with a clean desk every morning also helps with clarity. You can focus on the work not the mess on your desk!”
Locating a colleague is rarely an issue. “We use the team messaging platform Slack to let colleagues know where we are,” Dr Jazbec explains. Alternatively, they go low-tech but healthy and simply look for the person they need. “It’s always good to have a reason to stretch your legs.”
While articles on ABW are not new seeing its application in an academic setting is really interesting. As the general manager of an engineered-to-order manufacturing business a work space strategy is becoming increasingly important to our transformation journey, so reading of its application in other long standing traditional sectors is encouraging.