The Benefits of Unassigned Office Seating

The concept of unassigned seating has existed for years, yet the pandemic has highlighted the trend as a beneficial design feature for the workplace. John Campbell, president, Francis Cauffman Architects (FCA), specializes in workplace programming, planning, and design strategies. He said there is increased interest in unassigned office seating because work styles and locations have changed.

“What COVID-19 has done is accelerate something that’s already been happening. People have been working away from the office, and there was speculation that workers weren’t going to be as productive. Yet there are studies starting to suggest that because staff was remote, they were actually taking a little more initiative.”

As we head back into our offices regularly, there still needs to be a period of adjustment as companies figure out what model is ideal for their employees. It may take months, or even years to find the right solutions. “I feel that for the next two years, management teams are going to be doing a lot of pilot projects to sort of work out what’s right for them. For those of us in the design profession, it’s a really exciting time because every old paradigm has been taken apart,” Campbell said.

Campbell explained some of the key benefits of unassigned office seating, and how the concept can support workers during the post-pandemic phase—and well beyond.

The Power of Choice

In any given workspace, there are a range of settings, from enclosed to collaborative. Individuals who have options are not only more productive, they want to work in the office more often, and are likely to stay at the company for a longer term. “It’s an employees’ market, and there’s going to be that quest to get the top talent. Once you’ve got the talent, you’re going to have to retain them. A lot of workers, particularly younger people, are going to want to come back to the office, at least some of the time. They’re just not getting the same level of mentoring at home. It becomes harder to keep the culture going,” Campbell explained.

Alternative work zones and seating options in a space not only supports individuals, but also fosters collaboration, one of the main reasons to return to the office. “We want to be in the office predominantly to collaborate, to socialize with our colleagues and get those serendipitous moments. I think flexibility and choice are going to be key. It’s about trusting that everybody on your team is doing their part and getting the work done on time and to a certain standard. If you can get the work done efficiently regardless of where people are, I think that is going to be huge,” Campbell noted.

Efficient Use of Space

Campbell noted that because of the variety of sectors within a single office, assigned seating is no longer a necessity, unless an employee has a specialization. “I think in many ways there’s no real need for assigned seating, except if somebody has specialty equipment. Maybe someone is using the computer for graphics and they need a desk set up in a certain way with particular tools. If an employee has a valid reason, then I think assigned seating is appropriate.”

Even in the United States, with talk of 80-hour work weeks, offices have never been filled to capacity, so underutilized space has always been a consideration for designers and architects. “Before the pandemic, the average office occupancy in the U.S. was actually 50% at any time. Now it’s truly about a recalibration of space. We want to create different settings depending on people’s work styles and their work types. Employees are coming in for both formal and informal learning. That doesn’t require all of the desks or workstations that we typically provided in the past, Campbell added.

Creating an Experience

Without assigned seating, staff can focus on the experience of being in the office and interactions with colleagues, rather than just the cubicle. Campbell explained that employees have changed their thinking about having a seat and desk. When he meets with clients, he compares the office to the home. “I have often used the day-in-the-life exercise to help people understand that the whole office was actually their workspace, not just their desk. I tell people to think of their home. They do certain activities there that are public or private, but they don’t stay in one room. It’s the same when someone comes into the office. They are working on different tasks, they don’t sit at their desk all of the time.”

A successful business involves more than transactions, and design can be utilized to create enriching environments. “The culture and the people are the business drivers. If employees are coming to the office to engage with team members, for learning experiences, or for brainstorming sessions, they are not going to want to sit at the same desk day in and day out,” Campbell noted.

Office furniture manufacturers can offer new and existing solutions as we redesign offices. “We’re embracing the whole idea of business agility and flexibility. From a design perspective, I think it’s going to be very interesting, because I think that the furniture industry is going to play a bigger role. Ten years ago, most of their profits came from selling workstations. In many cases now, we’ve allocated less than 50% of our budget for workstations. Pieces for the informal, social spaces take up the bulk of that. I think you’re going to find that a lot will be done with furnishings,” Campbell said.