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V O L . X X I I N O. X V I I J U LY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 20 The offi ce of the future Companies are increasingly moving away from isolating rows of cubicles and having managers behind closed doors. Instead, they are opting for a mix of open and collaborative space, with designated areas for meetings or quieter conversation, within layouts that recognize the various needs of diff erent types of work. e change addresses the potential for today's technology to allow employees to carry out their work no matter where they are. IDEXX and Unum Group, two of Maine's largest private employers, are among the companies changing the way people think about workspace. It's not just about division of space. e total approach is about furnishings, colors, light, sound and other aspects that foster engaging places to work and also become a good recruiting tool for new employees. Stashing employees in rows of cubi- cles and management in walled offi ces is a thing of the past, according to Dean Strombom and Sven Govaars, architects in the Houston offi ce of Gensler, the global architecture, design and planning fi rm. Strombom and Govaars spoke in May at the Maine Real Estate & Development Association's conference about the "Offi ce of the future." More than 30% of American employees feel engaged or inspired at their jobs, Gensler research showed. Eighteen percent are unhappy or disengaged. A bit more than half, 52%, are somewhere in the middle. ey do their job and go home, but they are "pretty much checked out day-to-day," said Strombom. at 52% represents signifi cant opportunities for rethinking the work- place from a design standpoint, he said. "It's about the people who work in the building," Strombom said. "If there's something we can collectively do to improve the lives of the people in the building, there's a lot more value to be gained." Toward that end, Gensler identi- fi ed workplace factors to consider. ey include mobility, ergonomics, air quality, lighting, color, texture and acoustics. Gensler "walked the walk" when it leased a third fl oor in Houston and tested ideas, said Strombom. e result is a mix of personal, collaborative, mobile and common spaces. Gensler and Strombom also went mobile. "It wasn't easy," said Govaars. "For the fi rst two or three weeks I was wondering why I didn't have a space I could call my own. It took a while. You have to go through the change that you want to see other people go through." P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S Paul Larkins, director of corporate planning and construction at Unum Group, says the company is "energetically trying to modernize the offi ce." into the light W hen the design for the lat- est expansion at IDEXX Laboratories Inc. was under- way, among the company's consider- ations was how the workspace could best support the company's culture. IDEXX, a publicly traded manu- facturer and distributor with more than 2,300 employees in Westbrook, had its new $35 million Synergy Center designed to LEED Gold standards. e company also wanted its offi ce space — the con- fi guration, feel, technology and furnish- ings — to refl ect and support new ways that employees engage in their work. It identifi ed key drivers that defi ne new ways to think about workspace, including: ¡ Flexible and collaborative work environment ¡ Health and wellness ¡ Employee-focused spaces ¡ Sustainability ¡ Support for growth e company wanted to do away with the old-style rows of cubicles and high partitions. Instead, it arrived at a plan that largely revolves around open workspace with strategic confi gura- tions of diff erent types of individual and group areas, with senior managers work- ing in the open rather than dedicated private offi ces. e hope is to foster collaboration and mobility and reduce the need for more square footage, to accommodate a growing workforce. "We actually have been able to have a much more fl exible work environment that allows employees to work anywhere and not be tied to a desk, which is seen as a thing of the past," says Kathy Shafer, senior director of worldwide facilities. "Being tied to a desk all day isn't a desire of the workforce now, so we want to make sure we're addressing that." Today's largely paperless offi ce opera- tions helped the transformation. "We don't necessarily have to allocate space toward old-fashioned fi le rooms and rows of fi le cabinets," she says. " at's a contributor toward being able to grow without necessarily adding space." Maine companies reinterpret office space b Y l a u r i e s c h r e i b e r

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