Work Space in Tysons Corner is Shrinking

If you looked at the average work space in Tysons Corner in the 70’s, computers, monitors and printers took up a huge amount of space in a modern day office. Everyone kept their data backed up in very large filing cabinets. The higher on the totem pole you got, the bigger the office you were granted. All this took up a lot of room, leaving not a lot of space for people, let alone niceties such as plants.

Fast forward 40 something years and you’ll see the office spaces in and around Tysons Corner have evolved tremendously. The work space is about simplicity and functionality. It’s about teamwork and thought sharing.

Work Spaces in Tysons Corner has Evolved for today’s Entrepreneurs

1. Ditching the tradtional work space

Business owners and entrepreneurs are giving up private offices in favor of the open office. Office Space has become ‘work environment’. Who needs a 8 ft. solid wood desk to make them successful, much let alone a desk we call our own. Clients love the idea their money is being spent on people’s talents and tech, not on hardwood floors and building maintenance. And they rather like meeting up in private members clubs – it makes a nice change from the conventional office.

2. The future of work space

It is interesting to see how space has become less of a status symbol. Instead we have a work space configured to allow us to move freely between stations, depending on the task. We have collaborative areas, and semi-private areas for those times when we absolutely must focus or have a private conversation. The future is co-working or shared space consisting of members who work for a range of different companies, ventures, and projects. There is little direct competition or internal politics and working amidst people doing different kinds of work can also make one’s own work identity stronger.

3. Collaboration and teamwork – Networking

Two heads are better than one, they say, so more than two will get the job done even faster, better and more productively. In general its a healthier environment. Today, we can collaborate with someone across the hall, bounce an idea off a fellow co-worker who may have different experience or an outside unbiased opinion. It’s not simply the case that we are going to work; we are also part of a social movement.

4. Smaller office impact, aside from cost savings on real estate?

Many organizations feel that there’s greater flexibility, more personal interaction, stronger corporate culture and more innovation. Many employees feel more engaged. There’s a greater sense of being a part of a community and having more opportunity. While desk space diminishes, more on-site amenities are being offered to increase job pride and fulfillment. Lunch and Learn is one way the new office community can benefit, by supporting an engaged community.

The younger generation of employees who are accustomed to working anywhere but a desk are turning up their noses at the formality of a traditional office. Years ago employees aspired to have a window office with a view. In contrast, younger employees now feel no need to spend time in the company office. For many, the need to separate work life from their home lives does not exist. Feeling at home in your community while working is the new evolution of the office.