Modular office units: the future of flexible work

Flexible work is much more than just a flexible office

A few years ago, flexible work mainly meant that no one had their own desk anymore. Grab your laptop, find an open spot, and get to work. These days, it’s a bit more nuanced.

Take a typical workday. You start with a short team meeting. After that, you want to spend an hour focusing on a proposal. Next, you have a Teams call, and in the afternoon, you discuss something confidential with a coworker.

For all those moments, you actually need something different. An open workspace is great for socializing. But for a meeting with a client, you want peace and quiet. And for a brainstorming session, you want space to work together.

So the question isn't just how many workstations you need. What's more interesting is what types of workstations are missing.

Take a walk through your own office on Tuesday afternoon

You really don't need to commission a complicated study to identify initial bottlenecks. Just walk around on a day when almost everyone is present.

You'll probably recognize a few of these:

• Someone is on a video call at his desk;
• Two colleagues are occupying a conference room that seats twelve people;
• Someone rushes to the cafeteria with a laptop to take a break;
• A phone call can be easily overheard three desks away;
• The smallest meeting room is full all day;
• A project team is constantly moving from place to place;
• Confidential conversations take place in places where it's actually not convenient;
• Some large spaces are now strikingly often empty;
• employees reserve rooms for longer than they actually use them;
• On quiet days, it actually seems like everything is fine.

Then maybe you don't have a shortage of square meters at all. It could just as easily be a distribution problem.

Real-life example: the conference room where there are almost never twelve people

Imagine: you have a nice conference room that seats twelve people. In theory, that’s really convenient. In reality, there are usually only two or three people there.

Meanwhile, a coworker is walking through the office with his laptop under his arm. He’s looking for a quiet spot to have an online meeting with a client. The small conference room is already occupied again.

Adding more space isn't necessarily the first step. Perhaps a different layout would be a better option. For example, a smaller meeting booth can be used for short meetings and online calls. The large room remains available when you actually need it.

Open workspaces should simply remain open

Of course, there’s a reason why open-plan offices have gained so much ground. It’s easy to quickly ask a colleague a question. New employees get to know the team faster, and spontaneous discussions happen naturally.

However, an open space like this also has a volume control that sometimes seems to be missing.

An enthusiastic Teams meeting here, a sales call there, and in between, someone trying to concentrate on finishing a budget. That causes friction.

The solution doesn’t have to be filling the entire office with private offices again. It’s really about finding the right balance. With appropriate acoustic solutions for the office, you can add quiet zones without completely losing the open feel.

Taking a break without ruining the mood

Consider a consulting firm where colleagues enjoy working together in a single open space. They brainstorm frequently, drop by each other’s desks easily, and the atmosphere is informal.

That works fine—until four consultants call a client at the same time.

Building a row of permanent offices seems rather drastic. Besides, you’d be taking away the very open atmosphere that everyone loves.

A few well-placed modular office units can then be a much more logical addition. Phone calls and confidential discussions are given their own space. Outside the units, the office remains lively.

From a quick phone call to an afternoon of working together

The great thing about modular office units is that not every space has to serve the same purpose.

For example, you might consider:

• a compact space for phone calls;
• a quiet place to work with focus for an hour;
• a space for one-on-one conversations;
• a small meeting space for two to four people;
• a space for hybrid collaboration;
• a project space where a team can work together for an afternoon;
• a larger, enclosed workspace for a department;
• a place for job interviews and performance reviews;
• a temporary project space within an existing floor.

That way, you can give different activities a suitable place. After all, not every square meter has to be able to handle everything at once.

Modular doesn't mean you'll have to make adjustments every month

This is a common misconception. When you think of modular work, you might picture office units that are constantly being moved around. As if you suddenly decided on a Friday afternoon to rearrange half the floor.

That's not the point.

A unit can easily stay in exactly the same spot for years. If the space is being used well, just leave it where it is.

You really appreciate the value of modularity when something does change. A team grows. Two departments start working together. A meeting room becomes a project space. Then you can look at the existing configuration and adjust it again where possible. The BOW system is built precisely on that principle.

Real-world example: Suddenly, five marketers become nine

A marketing team is comfortably set up with five employees. They work partly in an open-concept space and occasionally use a small room for client meetings.

A year later, the team consists of nine people. At the same time, there are many more video calls. What used to work just fine is starting to become a problem.

Of course, you could start over with the entire layout. But maybe that isn't necessary at all. An existing space might be able to be adapted. Or two smaller workspaces might now be better suited to everyday use.

That's exactly when reconfiguration becomes interesting: not because it's possible, but because the organization demands it.

Real-world practice: a focus for programmers

At APC, a very specific need arose: programmers were working in an open-plan office but were looking for more opportunities to work in a focused environment.

Nine BOW Two units were installed for that project. According to the project description, factors such as modularity and acoustics played an important role in the decision.

That example clearly illustrates where a modular solution comes in handy. Not because an office necessarily needs as many enclosed spaces as possible, but because certain types of work sometimes require something that an open-plan office cannot provide.

Color can be a little fun

"Flexible" and "modular" can quickly sound technical. But an office unit doesn't have to feel like someone just plopped a standard box into the interior. Color can make a big difference here.

You might want to keep the focus areas calm with a warm sand tone. For a project space, you can go for something a bit bolder. Or you can incorporate colors from the brand identity.

At BOW, you can choose RAL colors for the frame. For PET felt panels, more than 200 RAL colors are available. Patterns, prints, and other finishes can also be incorporated into the design.

This allows you to match an office unit to the existing interior. Of course, you can also choose to make it stand out on purpose.

Acoustics are better if you think about them in advance

Acoustics are often not discussed until people start complaining. Then it suddenly becomes apparent that everyone can hear each other’s conversations, and it becomes difficult to concentrate. There’s a smarter way to handle this.

When designing the space, immediately consider the type of work that takes place there. Where do people make a lot of phone calls? Where do people need to be able to focus for long periods of time? Which conversations require more privacy?

Glass walls can help maintain an open feel. Acoustic materials can provide additional quiet in other areas. At BOW, we use PET felt panels as an additional option for privacy and acoustics.

So it's not about cramming as much material as possible into every space. It's about choosing what a space needs.

Hybrid work makes Tuesdays more important than usual

Suppose that, on average, 60 percent of your employees work in the office. That sounds like plenty of space—until it turns out that almost everyone has chosen Tuesdays and Thursdays.

On paper, you have enough capacity. In practice, it is precisely on those days that there is a shortage of small meeting spaces, video call rooms, and quiet workspaces.

So don’t just look at average occupancy. It’s actually the peak times that tell you the most. When do things get backed up? What are people waiting for? Which rooms are consistently reserved around 10:00 a.m.?

Observations like that are much more helpful than just a total number of agencies.

Real-world example: hybrid meetings with ten empty chairs

Another familiar situation: two employees are sitting in a large conference room. On the screen are three colleagues who are joining the meeting from home.

Technically speaking, the ten-person room does its job. It's just not particularly efficient.

At the same time, someone is waiting outside for a small space for another meeting. Having multiple sizes makes it easier to manage this. Use large spaces for team days and presentations. Smaller spaces accommodate daily hybrid meetings.

So, not more space. But space that fits better.

Sustainability also means: not throwing everything away when something changes

When we think of sustainability, we tend to think of recycled materials. That makes sense. But there’s another important aspect: how long can you keep using something?

A fixed office layout may no longer be a good fit after a few years. When making adjustments means tearing down walls and disposing of materials, the whole process starts over.

In a modular system, components can actually be reused as part of a different configuration. Our system is also 100% recyclable. That makes sustainability less abstract. You simply look beyond the initial setup.

Don't start by asking, "Which unit should we get?"

This might just be the most important tip in this entire blog.

Don't start with the product.

First, walk through a typical workday and ask employees what challenges they face. Not just managers, but specifically the people who use the spaces every day.

For example, ask:

• Where do you go when you really want to focus?
• Where do you have a confidential conversation?
• Which room do you often try to reserve, but is always full?
• Which room is surprisingly often empty?
• Where do you make your video calls?
• Which sounds distract you the most?
• Which workdays feel the busiest?
• Where are project teams currently joining in?
• Which room do you miss at least once a week?
• Which location works particularly well, and why?

You probably won't get a polished real estate report in return. But you will get information that's actually useful.

Sometimes you don't need a bigger office at all

When an office feels crowded, the first thought that comes to mind is often: we’re outgrowing it. Maybe. But take a closer look first.

A wide hallway, an unused corner, or a large open area can sometimes be used in different ways. A large conference room might be able to delegate part of its function to smaller spaces.

Square meters are only truly valuable when they align with what people are trying to do. That’s also why modular office units can be a good fit for existing offices. You can add a new function without automatically having to look for additional leased space.

When do modular office units become a viable option?

There’s no magic number of employees that suddenly means you need a modular office unit. It’s better to look for signs.

Consider, for example, situations in which:

• teams that regularly grow or change;
• hybrid work is a regular part of the week;
• video calls mostly take place from offices;
• small meeting rooms are always full;
• large conference rooms are often underutilized;
• employees who have trouble concentrating;
• confidential conversations are difficult to schedule;
• you actually want to maintain the open layout of the office;
• a traditional renovation is not desirable;
• You expect that space requirements will change again in the future.

Do you recognize several of these? If so, it's probably time to look not just at the furniture, but at the layout of the workspace.

Being future-proof means, above all, not limiting yourself

No one knows exactly what the office of 2032 will look like. Maybe by then we’ll all be back working in the office five days a week. Or maybe not. You don’t need to have an answer to that today.

A future-proof office doesn't have to predict every development. Above all, it must prevent every change from immediately becoming a major problem.

Today, you’re making choices that people can work comfortably with. At the same time, you’re leaving enough room to reassess the situation in a few years. That’s a lot more realistic than trying to design the perfect, definitive office layout.

The future of flexible work is actually surprisingly practical

Flexible work sometimes sounds like a major HR or facilities issue. In practice, it often starts with something very simple.

Someone wants to make a phone call in peace.

A team wants to work on a project together.

A manager wants to have a conversation without six coworkers eavesdropping.

And on Tuesdays, everyone wants a meeting room at the same time.

Good modular office units don't solve every office problem. Nor do they need to. They can, however, add exactly those features that are missing from an existing environment.

And perhaps that is the essence of flexible work: not constantly changing everything, but ensuring that you can change when it’s necessary.

First, look at the workday; only then should you look at the solution

Wondering what your office needs? Start by taking that walk on Tuesday afternoon. See which spaces are being used to their full potential and where people are forced to improvise.

Would you like to see what’s possible with different configurations after that? Stop by the showroom. There, you can see BOW in person and experience different finishes and layouts.

Do you already have a floor plan or a specific challenge? If so, please email sales@bowfitout.com. Then we’ll work together to design a workspace that’s comfortable to work in without locking everything in for the next ten years.