Out of the Box Offices: Forget the Cubicle, Embrace Mobility

The working world is going through major changes - its not just the compartmentalized world of Dilbert anymore.

For most of us the path of our career led us from the mosh pit of cubicles to want the hallowed ground of our own office, with four walls and a door.

But with the continuing advances in technology and the changing views of how work is accomplished, is a cubicle or office even necessary?

Do we still need to label our scissors and staplers and have a permanent place to set up shop?

According to Marcia Mayhew, there's a new way to view the office - it's all about multipurpose and shared spaces to gain the innovative advantage.Mayhew explained there are many new guiding principles of office design and planning. As the head of a company that has worked with RIM, GE, CTV, and Bell/GlobeMedia, Mayhew is well-versed in the effects of technology as well as the brands of these well-known companies and how that needs to translate to an office environment.

"With 15-20 cents of every revenue dollar dedicated to facility costs, for companies, people are the first important cost and real estate is the second," says Mayhew. "how you leverage the real estate to benefit the people is key."

Mayhew says a successful office in the 21st century needs to have a competitive advantage as much as it needs to be practical, sustainable and healthy. Her team speaks with employees at different levels within a company to get a full picture of needs, wants, desires and realities of everyone's daily work life.

And even if the office environment is traditional, the need for more transitional spaces and an environment that forgets the world of Dilbert and encourages a healthy future is what most employees want. Mayhew partners on many projects with Steelcase, an office furniture company, because of their modern view of what is needed by employees.

Examples of what can be incorporated beyond the cubicle:

- mobile locker - a movable storage unit for all personal items which can be taken anywhere in the office depending on that day's work - easily brought into meeting space or for one-the-go collaboration, instead of having everything locked into one space.

- walkstation - a treadmill with a desk, to be able to encourage office workers to be mobile when on a conference call or when needing time to brainstorm.

- mediascape - an improved conference space with a flatscreen, to allow anyone to plug in via USB or wireless to share documents, presentations, photos as well as access the web.