Occupiers of office space in Manchester are making changes to respond to new hybrid working patterns following Covid-19.
With office workers carrying out their roles remotely from home during the pandemic, this has led to a major shift to hybrid working, where staff split their time between working remotely and in the physical office.
For example, ITV has upgraded its Salford workspace at MediaCity UK’s Orange Tower. ITV’s regional facilities manager, Angela Lusky, said:
“This is the first building we have fully adapted to hybrid working. We knew we couldn’t bring everybody back from home all day, every day. It feels quite brave and new.”
ITV took inspiration from what the so-called ‘Manhattan concept’, with workspaces separated into different blocks laid out in squares, circles and hexagons. This layout is designed to be flexible and encourage more staff creativity. Circle spaces do not have monitors and are for teams to gather with laptops. Hexagon areas have six seats while square areas have eight seats, and both arrangements feature monitors.
Meanwhile, Carl Williams of Grant Thornton, which recently occupied space in Oxford Road’s Landmark building, says workers are expected to be at the office between one and four days a week. Though many workers are at home he says:
“The office is still the centre of gravity.”
Office space in Manchester remains the place where staff come together and cooperate. The physical office space continues to play a key role in Manchester’s working life.
