It’s Hubble’s 10th Birthday!
So much has changed in the past ten years — not just for us, but for the whole working world.
To celebrate, we’re taking a trip down memory lane to explore how workplace trends have evolved over the past ten years — and how you can make them work for you and your business.
- We can now “flex” the fixed office budget
- Working from home is now a standard practice
- Remote teams still want an ‘in-person’ element
- Pet-friendly offices have soared in popularity
- Younger employees are more likely to prioritise ‘work-life’ balance
- The office is no longer a centralised HQ
- Companies can now save significantly on office space
- Workplace mental health is getting the attention it deserves
- Employees can now work from anywhere
- More companies are investing in company offsites
1) We can now ‘flex’ the fixed office budget
Office rent is the second largest fixed cost for most businesses, with the average cost per employee in London at £500 per month.
Split across the traditional 5-day work week, that’s £100 per day spent in the office.
But, of course, the 2020s saw a global shift to hybrid and remote work. Workers no longer spent every day in the office, and many companies downsized or ditched it altogether.
This opened up new possibilities for the office budget. Now, it’s common for companies to reduce or adapt their budgets in line with their team’s needs or where they spend their time. For example:
- CIPD reported that nearly half of UK companies introduced home office allowances in 2020.
- According to CIPD, 52% of organisations increased their budgets for wellbeing support in response to Covid-19 in 2021.
- BVA BDRC also found that 16% of companies will be investing in more company offsites in 2024, while 48% expected almost the same amount.
On-demand workspace memberships have also become a big area of investment with substantial returns. Their flexibility and cost-effectiveness appeal to companies of all sizes, as you only pay for the spaces you book.
For example, Taskrabbit completely replaced its need for a full-time office by using on-demand workspace. With it, they have successfully managed to reinvent the traditional “working week” by using different workspaces for different activities, allowing them to save up to 87%* compared to the cost of maintaining a full-time office.
2) Working from home has gone from a special perk to a standard practice
In the 2010s, only a small percentage of employees regularly worked from home. Scepticism was the root cause, with many employers citing productivity, collaboration and “slacking off” as main concerns.
For those who could work from home, it was often framed as a “special benefit” — typically enjoyed by senior employees or those in specific roles.
There was also a general consensus that working in an office was needed for maintaining culture and strengthening team bonds. Without the office, you wouldn’t have a strong team.
Fast-forward to 2022, and this attitude hasn’t necessarily gone away. In our Workspace Satisfaction Report, most companies recognise the value of in-person working. For example:
- 44% of fully remote companies, 43% of fully office-based companies, and 38% of hybrid companies agree that in-person work is important for maintaining company culture.
- For business leaders who value in-person working, maintaining “culture” (40%) and “collaboration” (32%) were listed as the top reasons.
However, employers can’t just ignore the expectations shaped by widespread remote work. Flexibility, autonomy, and choice have become top priorities for employees globally — with some surveys suggesting that employees will seek new opportunities to maintain that freedom.
It’s clear that the option to “work from home” is now a standard offering for most employers, with 58% of UK employers offering remote work to all viable staff in 2023.
3) But remote teams can still enjoy an “in-person” element
While remote working benefitted us during the pandemic, old habits die hard.
Over the past two years, many business leaders and employees have started to find ways to meet face-to-face — regardless of whether they’ve got a full-time office or not.
Again, in our Workspace Satisfaction Report, 68% of business leaders said they’d be shifting strategies to facilitate more in-person interactions.
Of those leaders issuing ‘back-to-office mandates’, 31% said they’d opt for a 2-day per week strategy (otherwise known as a Set-Day or Time-Based hybrid strategy).
But what work activities do business leaders want their teams to be together for? Interestingly, 36% of remote companies said they require in-person attendance for activities like “departmental meetings”, whereas only 17% of hybrid companies said the same.
It’s clear that remote companies still recognise the importance of in-person working, with the number of people working exclusively remotely dropping by 14% from 2022 to 2023.
4) Pet-friendly offices are all the rage
In the early 2000s, bringing pets to work was uncommon. However, tech giants like Google started to change that.
Urs Hölzle, Google’s eighth employee and first VP of Engineering, began bringing his dog, Yoshka, to the offices in 1999.
This move proved monumental, as it directly inspired Google’s famous dog-friendly policy. Their Mountain View HQ even features a dog-friendly park known as “The Doogleplex”.
Fast-forward to the 2010s, and pet-friendly offices started to become more popular — primarily for their ability to combat stress and attract and retain top talent.
But, the pandemic pet boom only increased demand for pet-friendly offices. One survey found that 52% of British people would like to bring their dog to the office, citing “enhancing morale” and “reducing stress” as core benefits.
We have plenty of pet-friendly workspaces available on the Hubble platform. Explore them here!
5) Younger employees are more likely to prioritise work-life balance
In the 2000s and 2010s, workplace ‘success’ was largely defined by career progression, salary increases, and other traditional markers of achievement.
Fast-forward to the 2020s, and Gen Zs and Millennials make up a significant proportion of the workforce. This has contributed to a growing appetite for a much healthier work-life balance.
For example:
- A 2022 Deloitte survey found that 71% of Gen Z and Millennial workers cited work-life balance as the top reason for working at their current organisation.
- Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index Annual Report showed more than half of millennial and Gen Z workers who quit cited either “lack of work-life balance” or “lack of flexibility” as the reason.
- A 2024 market report showed that 64% of people in the UK would turn down a promotion in order to maintain their well-being and in turn their work-life balance.
As a result, business leaders worldwide are knuckling down to ensure their employees have a healthy work-life balance — and they’re seemingly doing a good job:
In 2023, approximately one-third of Gen Zs and millennials in full- or part-time work reported that they are “very” satisfied with their work/life balance, compared to only one in five in 2019.
6) The “office” is no longer a singular, fixed place
In the 2010s, the office was seen as a centralised HQ where all employees would be physically present five days a week during regular business hours.
This is what we’d now call a “fully office-based” workspace strategy — and it’s safe to say it’s nowhere near as popular.
One study found that 48% of employees would quit their jobs if they were told to come into the office five days a week again.
However, some business leaders want their employees to return to the office. According to our report, 79% of CEOs indicated they want their employees back in the office “somewhat” more.
Luckily, many alternative solutions provide a good balance of flexibility and in-person work. Since the ‘office’ is now a network of environments, the key is to tailor them to your specific needs.
For example, unless you want or need 100% of your workforce to be in the office five days a week, you do not need a full-time office.
Instead, you could adopt a set-day hybrid strategy where employees have designated set days for working in the office and working remotely (home or on-demand workspaces).
You can customise this by choosing the days, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of in-person without sacrificing employee flexibility!
7) Companies can now save significant amounts of money on office space without ditching it altogether
Since the ‘office’ has become a network of environments for various tasks and needs, many companies are finding ways to save on office space without eliminating it entirely.
Let’s continue with our set-day hybrid strategy example to unpack how.
You get to decide what days your employees work from the office. After looking at office attendance data, you conclude that Tuesdays and Thursdays are the most popular office days.
This means you’ll only need an office space for those two days. In this case, renting a part-time office is a no-brainer.
Part-time offices are private spaces that your team can access for the same 1-3 days each week. They’re up to 75% cheaper than a full-time office and allow employees to work from various locations on their non-office days.
Since remote working is a benefit that 77% of workers want as a permanent feature in the workplace, this flexible solution saves costs and boosts employee satisfaction and retention.
Other effective strategies for cost reduction:
- Give your team access to on-demand workspaces and only pay for the space you use.
- Opt for a smaller, serviced office rental with all-inclusive fees and monthly rolling contracts.
- Look for office space in the cheapest areas, such as boroughs like Hammersmith, Fulham, and Clapham, which are great places to start.
8) Workplace mental health is getting the attention it deserves
In the 2010s, workplace mental health policies were not as formalised as they are today. But it started to gain traction, with multiple studies calling for “clearly articulated workplace policies on mental health“.
Fast-forward to the 2020s, and employee mental health isn’t going anywhere. For example:
- Around 1 in 6 people experience mental health problems in the workplace.
- 53% of employees prioritise their wellbeing over work more than they did before 2020.
- According to BITC, 41% of UK employees felt their work had a negative impact on their mental health in 2020.
As a result, many UK companies have increased their focus on mental health support to promote wellbeing.
According to a 2022 report by Deloitte, a whopping 76% of UK businesses now offer some form of mental health support to their employees.
In fact, Deloitte’s analysis has shown a compelling financial business case for investing in mental health, suggesting a return of £5 for every £1 spent on wellbeing support.
9) You can work from anywhere without huge disruptions
Work from Anywhere (WFA) schemes were treated as a rarity in the 2010s. But, of course, the seismic shift to hybrid and remote working has caused it to surge in popularity.
A 2022 survey revealed that 21% of British adults were considering the possibility of working remotely from another country in 2023 — a 10% increase from the previous year.
This trend was especially popular among Generation Z, with 39% reporting plans to work abroad in 2023.
What’s more, businesses are committed to enhancing the remote work experience. 90% of businesses plan to increase their investment in video conferencing technology in 2024 — and 67% of businesses said they prefer video conferences to large group meetings.
While WFA schemes offer many benefits — such as happier employees and increased retention — they can also present challenges, particularly when maintaining boundaries between work and play.
For example, a 2022 report by the CIPD noted that remote employees reported difficulty in “switching off” from work, highlighting the need for clear boundaries and employer support.
10) Companies are investing more in company offsites
With more flexible office budgets and the rise of distributed teams, we’ve noticed a growing trend among our customers: they’re increasingly investing in company offsites.
Throughout the 2010s, the company offsite was often considered as a “nice-to-have”. Now, it’s become a linchpin of company culture. In fact, popularity of offsites have nearly doubled since the pandemic.
For example, our customers — such as Holland & Barrett — have made it the big social event of the year. In some cases, they fly the whole team over to Lisbon for a two-day retreat where they work, host seminars and bond over lunches, dinners and team activities!
With 73% of employees expressing a desire for more investment in team-building activities, this trend shows no signs of slowing down.
How Hubble can help
Over the past decade, Hubble’s helped thousands of companies find a workspace solution that suits them, and we’re eager to keep going.
Our flexible workspace platform helps businesses give their teams great places to work. Whether you need a full-time office, a part-time space, or access to on-demand workspaces, we’re here to support you every step of the way!
The Hubble Promise:
- Expert Guidance – Our workspace specialists oversee the entire process of finding your new office, so you don’t have to.
- 100% Market Coverage – Gain access to every available workspace in the flexible office market. Simplify your search by exploring all options in one place.
- Significant Savings – Benefit from average discounts of 15% as our experts negotiate the best prices on your behalf.
- Up-Front Pricing and Information — We don’t hide pricing and details behind sales calls or gatekeepers.
