COVID-19 has left businesses re-prioritising their agendas. A high-ranking topic on the agenda is looking for a small office space for rent.
Our research indicates that 25% of businesses who were not considering moving before COVID-19 are now considering it, and 57% of businesses will be looking to downsize their current office. 

If you’re one of these businesses, we’re here to tell you: downsizing is not all doom and gloom!

In fact, we want to throw out some of the ‘unsaid’ things around downsizing and debunk some unpleasant myths when looking for a small office space for rent.

Here’s five overlooked realities to downsizing:

1. Downsizing doesn’t mean you’re failing.

Losing money and letting go of staff is not easy. It’s a really devastating thing that weighs heavy (we hope) on every decision maker’s conscience.
But unprecedented times have called for unprecedented actions. If one of them is downsizing, it does not mean you are failing as a business.

On the contrary, The Office for National Statistics has revealed that business is, slowly but surely, reemerging after lockdown. From 29th June - 12 July 2020:  

‘Of responding businesses, 92% are trading compared with 86% in the first two weeks of June. 7% of workforces have returned from furlough and 4% have returned from remote-working.’

Albeit slightly differently to the past and potentially to new markets, trade is bouncing back. Our recent survey found that 39% of those looking to move are looking for flexible workspace to rent contracts that allow you to amend your workspace size with greater flexibility than leased or owned offices.
There are many reasons for downsizing - yes, a large one is cost, but so is safety. 33% of respondents said that the most useful information they could have right now is ‘How can I ensure my team can stay happy, healthy, and safe?’    
One way of tackling this concern?

Splitting up larger teams and staggering office locations.

This can help you prioritise worker safety and reduce the risk of infection. This is one workaround we have heard many businesses implementing. 

2. You can take a small office for rent and rotate your staff coming in and working from home.

In a serviced office, more often than not there will STILL be room enough for everyone to come in!

We can personally vouch for this one!
As a direct result of the pandemic, Flexioffices downsized our 50 person office to a 16-person one and adopted a rota system so that all staff can use the office but also benefit from home-working,
All you need to do, HR? Keep your foot on the pulse and set up flexible-work rotas.
Now, Flexioffices, like many companies, are embracing remote-working and ensuring our team feel they have a choice of environments, office or remote, from which to work from.
Need we mention remote-working is a valued work perk?

3. Downsizing does not mean you have to lose collaboration space. 

The office is no longer about people sitting in one spot for 8 hours a day. According to our recent findings, 24% of those in people roles say the one thing they want to change is access to more breakout spaces and communal areas.
The pièce de resistance of our downsize journey?
Thanks to The Bloomsbury Building’s luxury collaboration spaces, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to hot-desking. 

What if we told you you could also keep collaboration space in your small private office within a serviced office building?

This is a great option if your business undertakes regular collaborative projects. We suggest setting aside a ‘whiteboard corner’ - encourage your staff to interact, socialise and have the space for innovation, even if you’re working with smaller digs.

4. It's a little less lonely... 

We know, social distancing is, rightfully, the priority in boosting a return to work.
However, according to CNBC, the stakes for maintaining company culture only grew as a result of the pandemic. This is hardly surprising, especially for those who have spent a lifetime working in a sociable environment.
The return to work is particularly appealing to those whose mental health and personal responsibilities have been under pressure this year.  
We're not suggesting that a smaller office single-handedly resolves this issue.
What we are saying, though, is that if you've come from a gargantuan space, where desks can spend up to 45% of the time unoccupied, a smaller space to have interaction with colleagues is not only more cost-efficient, it can make for a happier, and more motivational environment. 

5. If your company grows, you can upsize at the drop of a hat in flexible workspaces. 

39% of those looking to move in future are now looking for flexible work contracts 

What do we mean by this?

Flexible work contracts are part and parcel of flexible workspace. Compared to a conventional lease - whichtend to require a long-term commitment of multiple years, flexible working spaces mean you can experiment with how many staff you need. Flexioffices Business Director, Michael Dubicki, observes:

“The way people are re-approaching work sits nicely with the concept of flex-space.Say you have five people in the office at any one given time, but then your work patterns change to seven in the office, you can adapt your needs until a higher density is justified.”

Not just this, but as mentioned above, access to collaborative hot-desking space in flexible working spaces means you can experiment with how many staff you need in the office and upsize as and when your needs call for it. Time-wise, cost-wise, and people-wise, flex-space is a no-brainer for the future of work. 

In a nutshell: downsizing might be the best call for you right now, but it doesn’t mean it’s forever, and certainly doesn’t mean you’re failing. 

If you’re in a position where you’re starting to consider your future workplace needs or unsure what’s your next best port of call in your office, we’d be happy to help. Our services are free and unbiased. If you could use some expert advice, get in touch.