The federal office of the future will be employee-driven, not employee-driven.
That’s the goal of the General Services Administration at the new Workplace Innovation Lab unveiled January 25 in Washington, DC.
“The Innovation Lab is one of the many ways we are trying to create magnets, not obligations, for people to return to the office and re-experience the benefits of shared culture, the exchange of ideas, and camaraderie.” .
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The federal office of the future will be employee-driven, not employee-driven.
That’s the goal of the General Services Administration at the new Workplace Innovation Lab unveiled January 25 in Washington, DC.
“The Innovation Lab is one of the many ways we are trying to create a magnet, not a command, for people to return to the office and re-experience the benefits of shared culture, exchange of ideas, and camaraderie,” says Nina. says Albert. Commissioner of her Public Building Service for the GSA at the grand opening celebration. “What we see today is just innovation. Innovation in furniture solutions, innovation in meetings, how do we really experience hybrids in a way that feels seamless and effortless as opposed to a burden?”
This year-long project brought together five furniture vendors and one technology provider to give the agency the opportunity to test and provide feedback on a variety of new office space designs. This is an important part of the broader Workplace 2030 initiative. GSA accepts appointments for agents to test the lab and offer tours.
Albert said what differentiates Workplace 2030 from previous attempts before 2010 and 2020 is its focus on users.
“There’s an interesting history of what the 1950s premise was and how people wanted to work. Then we moved to a density model where everyone was crammed into cubicle stations and open areas,” she says. Told. “Now the future is a choice. People can work in closed offices. We call it a focus room, or you can work in an open office space because the day changes and what you need in the moment changes every day.”
When GSA launched Workplace 2020 in the mid-2000s and began moving employees and tenants to the concept of open offices, employees were making changes to themselves, not themselves. I felt that.
Many employees hid behind earbuds or promoted pre-pandemic remote work to escape someone wearing too much perfume or eating tuna for lunch every day at their desk.
Planning from 2 years ago
The GSA has changed its approach to Workplace 2030, meeting with more than 100 employees from 18 government agencies from 2021 to discuss what the future of federal workspaces will look like.
GSA created the lab to show how the pandemic has spurred innovation in office spaces, Albert said. sectorthat’s why You can also see what agencies can do without spending money.
“There is an innovation lab section that I think is pretty cool. “Specifically, a theme that has always resonated with me about what the future of work might look like is around mobility and flexibility. Until people figure it out, there will be moveable modular furniture that reflects that need in the next few years, as well as a little more relaxed furniture that brings the comfort of the living room into the office. There are different kinds of spaces because the future of the workplace is about giving employees more choice.”
That selection, described by Albert, was exhibited in the lab in several different ways.
The vendor brought in a desk on wheels that could be moved from one person in heads-down mode and set up for a two-person collaboration session.
There are mostly soundproof booths, similar to old-fashioned phone booths, where employees can make private phone calls in private or conduct brief video sessions without disturbing others.
There are also sofas, stools, and different types of seats and tables that you can find in your home or coffee shop.
Each of these workspaces has state-of-the-art hardware and software. Book a meeting room or desk area using a touch screen, see heating or cooling details for that particular space and multiple screens, and easily join employees to online meetings using speakers and cameras will do so.
technology integration
GSA chief architect Chuck Hardy said each of the five vendors approached their respective portions of the 25,000-square-foot space differently.
“There are a lot of touchscreens that you can log in to, regardless of the brand of the meeting: Zoom, Google, Teams, etc. It’s one touch and it’s easy,” he said. “Another thing you see in some of these products is sound cancellation. We can be in this room and have this conversation in an open area. Come to think of it, these technologies do that as well: focus on the 3 people in the meeting and the 10 people next to them, block out and cancel out the sound from them, fire engine down the street during the meeting. showed a demonstration of actually canceling the
Hardy said the GSA expects to continue to innovate these spaces over the next year based on the feedback received by participating vendors.
“We’re looking for feedback on whether we can improve the space by simply moving our current products, or potentially even bring in additional products to help with whatever those issues are. We are looking for a vendor to do those simultaneous adjustments if the vendor chooses to see if that’s the case,” he said. “We want people who use this space to say, ‘This is what we love about it.’ It will be a challenge to see if we can do it.”
Hardy said the GSA collects feedback on the innovation lab setup in a few different ways. The booking system asks the user to complete a survey. GSA will also conduct a follow-up phone call with the user.
“For the past year, we’re currently talking about holding a roundtable of people using it to bring in some people and talk about how it works. , we can elicit direct feedback,” he said. “Vendors also look at the research they do regularly and how they collect data. It’s all about improving their products and improving the experience.”
GSA Unique Opportunity
GSA also makes it easy for institutions to participate, as there is no cost to work in the lab. GSA is also simplifying how non-agency federal employees enter the building, making it easier for federal employees to visit the labs.
With more than 8,600 buildings and 370 million square feet of space nationwide, the Innovation Lab will influence how GSA creates office space now and in the future, said GSA administrator Robin Carnahan. says.
“This was perfectly timed and I couldn’t be more excited, because every agency across government is thinking about the need for space right now. They’re rethinking what this looks like.” “So the GSA is now leading the way, offering what is possible and being able to offer these options in a very flexible and easy-to-use way. I think it’s another example of a team leading this important change.”
The Office of Management and Budget has asked government agencies to submit their capital plans for 2024-2028 by December 16.
Carnahan said more than 200 employees across government are already using the Workplace Innovation Lab. And she expects traffic to only increase in the coming months.
“We know that our federal agency partners have so many different missions and people that they look different from agency to agency. “It’s about empowering teams so that they have the tools they need to do their best work for those who serve as the North Star,” Carnahan said. It has to be done intentionally to create spaces that create meaningful interactions for people to come to the office, just using the same old configuration can make people have worse internet than they have at home. It doesn’t make much sense when you’re sitting alone in your office on a video call, you need a setup that fosters this kind of collaboration and empowerment, creates flexible workspaces, and lets them do those things. ”