Offices around the world today look a lot more like a coffee shop or a boutique hotel than the rabbit warren of cubicles, private offices and conference rooms that people liked to poke fun at. Bringing baristas and bartenders into the workplace, along with cushy sofas, farmhouse tables and mismatched chairs is the hottest trend in workplace design. Whether you call it “resimercial,” “ancillary spaces” or “loose furnishings” the goal is the same: attract the best talent by offering a workplace with a relaxed vibe and hip sensibility. This decidedly “anti-corporate” approach to the workplace is intended to inject creativity and humanity into our culture and work process.
But there’s a problem: a lot of the time they’re not being used.
