Coworking: The flex office vs. the traditional office – and the winner is…

June 30, 2024

It’s Monday morning, the weekend is over and the office is once again waiting for our arrival. In general, offices have much in common with each other, a familiarity we’ve come to expect, especially when working at a Unicorn Flex Office: ergonomic desks and office chairs, meeting rooms, freshly brewed filter coffee from the coffee machine or the specialty coffee beverages prepared by the in-house Community Baristas. Despite being considered mainly a place to work, the umbrella term “office” refers nowadays to a myriad of workplace concepts. From single offices to office landscapes, from coworking to flex offices – the “office” is manifesting itself in a multitude of forms. A conventional, leasehold office and a flex office may appear similar at first glance, but understanding their underlying differences can be advantageous for businesses.

How the New Work movement has been changing the workplace

For as long as there has been work, there have been offices, with the first ones dating back to ancient Rome. In 1726, the Old Admiralty Building was erected in London, and is considered to be the first ever purpose-built office building. Over the last 300 years the workplace has transitioned through some notable trends, such as individual offices, Taylorism, open-plan offices, open space areas, office landscapes, activity-based spaces and cubicles. Yet even as early as the 1970s, the New Work movement was predicting that digitalization and automation, coupled with the changes in our society, will transform the way that we (can) work together. New Work sees, among other things, a shift towards more digital collaboration, flexibility and agility. The results of this transition are a number of modern office solutions, such as co-working spaces, shared workspaces or flex offices.

Alternative office solutions for the new working world

The Corona pandemic demonstrated that exclusively digital collaboration (albeit compulsory) could work well in many companies. Nevertheless, in the post-pandemic world, most employees have been returning to the office while hybrid working models have been gaining popularity. Many companies now consider themselves hybrid workplaces, offering their staff a mix of in-office and remote working options. The pandemic has shown us that the office – despite the versatile technologies and tools that make digital collaboration possible – is irreplaceable in its role as an important venue of social interaction. There is, however, one thing that staff members and teams increasingly desire, and that is flexibility. The flexibility to work from home, or at the coworking space in Lisbon, or in the company’s offices. At the same time, hybrid working models favored by employees are presenting companies with the challenge of effectively combining this new way of working with their previously established conventional office structures. Has the time come to switch to a flexible office solution, such as a flex office? Let’s grab a ringside seat and see!

Round 1: Flexibility

Traditional offices often come with long leasing arrangements and fixed terms, which leave little room for accommodating both planned or unforeseen business changes. Currently, many companies are finding that their offices are half empty – not due to a reduction in staff, but rather because the hybrid working model allows for work to be done outside of the company’s offices. However, bound by the rigid terms of their contracts, companies are powerless in reacting to the situation.

On the other hand, a flex office provides - as its name suggests - utmost flexibility. It’s a flexible office within a workspace, which a company can lease from a flex office provider. At Unicorn Workspaces, being flex office providers ourselves, we put maximum flexibility into the flex office for our users: no one is bound by lengthy leases – we offer rental terms as short as one month. The transfer to our workspaces is also hassle-free: our flex offices are move-in ready and fully equipped – and even include a Barista-style coffee flat rate.

Round 2: Scaling

Flex offices also provide the capability of scaling office space. At Unicorn Workspaces, companies can react swiftly to accommodate staff reduction or team growth, by terminating unused space or booking additional office space to expand as needed. This flexibility is a welcome benefit for businesses, in particular startups, which often experience phases of rapid growth.

The option of scaling up or down in the course of a leasing agreement is non-existent within conventional office space rentals. This means that companies are bound to long-term, hard-line arrangements. This inflexibility often leads to paying for office space that is no longer used and not being able to acquire additional space to accommodate growth within the company.

Round 3: Costs and all-inclusive services

An office is, of course, not only a place to work. It’s also the calling card of a company. Many businesses have realized they need to have attractive offices which their teams want to work in, offices that create a working environment for their staff that is pleasant and inspiring. Yet leasing an office, especially one that’s modern and appealing – is very costly for companies. This is due in part to the associated costs of a traditional office space rental, including the expense of purchasing and maintaining office furnishings, plus paying for electricity, heating, internet and cleaning services, which can often end up being much higher than what a company might have originally estimated. Furthermore, companies who were solely in-office oriented before the pandemic may now see only half of their office space being utilized, yet they must continue to bear the costs for the currently unused space as well.

Taking advantage of the flex office model can, however, lead to cost reductions. Companies can avoid the unnecessary costs of leasing a space too large for their needs by sharing office space or selectively leasing individual offices. They are also relieved of the expense of acquiring and maintaining office furnishings, as this is taken care of by the flex office provider. The costs for electricity, heating, internet and cleaning services are already conveniently included in the leasing price, so companies won’t ever have any unpleasant surprises when it come to ancillary costs. Flex office providers also offer additional and enticing all-inclusive services. At Unicorn Workspaces, it’s our Community Baristas, which are always on hand to assist our users with everything from reception and mailing services to preparing their favorite coffee drinks.

And the winner is….3:0 for the flex office!

The flexibility of the flex office, in regards to both leasing terms and scalability - makes it the clear winner. Traditional offices, with their rigid long-term leases, just can’t compete. Furthermore, companies can cut costs by switching from a traditional office to a flex office – especially those who are responding to their team’s desire for flexibility by offering a hybrid working solution. Lastly, flex office providers offer practical all-inclusive services for internet, reception and mailing or specialty coffee drinks prepared by professional Baristas. Ultimately, all of this makes the flex office the champion of advantages for companies seeking a flexible office solution.