I have worked in a lot of different offices, and a lot of different types of office, despite having worked for the same organisation for almost 25 years. During that time I’ve built up a definite set of preferences about what I prefer, and also a strongly held opinion that there isn’t a single workspace that fulfils all of my needs.
My needs when I’m focusing on something on my own differ greatly from my needs when I’m collaborating. I think that’s probably the same for a lot of people. For deep work I want to be uninterrupted, and to have everything I need at my fingertips so that there are no hand-offs required. I also need to control my physical environment more, especially regarding sound. I like to work to music, but I also really dislike wearing headphones for any length of time so it’s important that I have a way of playing music externally. I also want to have food and drink nearby so that I don’t have to interrupt my flow.
When I’m collaborating, I like to be in the same physical space as everyone else, with the whole team focusing on whatever it is. Anything that gets in the way of that is a barrier, and a lot of the time that includes most technology. I like big working spaces with enough space for everyone to be comfortable, and walls that we can write on, draw on, and stick things on to. If someone can’t be in the room then I like to have them on a big screen so they can see and be seen, and most importantly hear and be heard. This is the area where technology gets in the way the most, although it is definitely getting better.
I think these are two different places. The first one is my home office, and the second one is best provided by my employer. And while I don’t have either of these quite how I want them to be, the realisation that they are different things and are both important is a step in the right direction.