The document discusses how creative office spaces are becoming more popular and important for companies, especially among millennials. Traditional office spaces with cubicles can stifle creativity and collaboration, while modern, flexible workspaces allow employees more freedom and opportunities to work together. The ideal office space incorporates both private and open areas to enhance productivity and make employees feel like they are part of a team rather than isolated. Creative office designs can analyze employee needs and maximize collaboration through strategic layouts.

1. BY SONNY KALSI
Why Creative Spaces are
THE FUTURE
of Financial Firms
(& all companies)

2. There’s something about concrete floors,
unfinished ceilings, and unfurnished
office spaces that excites millennials. My
guess is that moving into these blank
slates gives tenants the option to
personalize and design their offices on
their own terms.

3. After all, necessity is the mother of
invention. Creativity begins from the
moment they move into their new space,
and this gives them a deeper sense of
ownership.

4. THE PROBLEM WITH
TRADITIONAL OFFICE SPACES

5. Let’s face it—most offices are familiar
and very boring. We work in a hedge
maze of cubicles with sterilized
hallways and strategically positioned
meeting and break rooms. This has
been the status quo for a long time,
and few companies have dared step
outside this comfort zone.

6. But times are changing. The modern
tenant sees the potential in unfurnished
spaces. Creative agencies and tech
startups are leading the movement with
increasingly elaborate and intentionally
collaborative open spaces. Modern,
customized spaces not only enhance
creativity, they also encourage
collaboration and increase productivity.

7. FOSTER COLLABORATION
BETWEEN TEAMS

8. One question I hear all the
time is, “How do you
intentionally design an office
space to maximize
collaboration and
productivity?” Well, with all
the technology at our
fingertips, enterprising
executives can analyze
workplace data, survey their
employees, and identify the
key needs of their workforce
as well as the various ways in
which these needs can be
satisfied.

9. Traditional office settings stifle these types
of interactions. Keeping every employee in
an office or cubicle for the entire day seems
like a good way to keep them focused and
productive. But humans are social
creatures, and they need the freedom to
come together and work apart on their
own terms.

10. Studies show that we
might be spending more
time with our colleagues
at work than our families
back home
1 in 4 Americans work 45–
59 hours every week. So it
makes sense that offices
should make employees
feel like they’re with
family rather than in a
library.

11. DESIGN THE PERFECT OFFICE
SPACE FOR YOUR NEEDS

12. Detractors of modern office spaces may argue that
noise, lack of privacy, and frequent distractions
would lower productivity and stunt creativity. But
the idea of a creative office isn’t to necessarily have
an open floor plan—it’s to have a flexible workspace
that works for your company and your employees.

13. This means bringing the best of both traditional
offices and modern, open offices into one space. A
real estate developer may go to great lengths to
create a one-size-fits-all design, but they could
get it terribly wrong. The real solution is to take
matters into your own hands and tell a developer
how you want your office to be set up.

14. In order to make workspaces feel more like home,
organizations should include a mix open spaces and
individual workspaces. WeWork, for example, has a
friendly lobby with amenities, various meeting
rooms in different styles, and private phone booths
for individual phone calls.

15. IT’S TIME TO CHANGE
THINGS UP

16. Is the traditional office
setting dead? Of course
not. There are still many
who believe that it’s the
best way to get work
done. And it does work
for a lot of
organizations.
But I think that’s due
mostly to familiarity, not
optimization.

17. We are creatures of habit,
and we can get used to
any workspace—even an
ineffective way.
Yet, based on current
trends, anyone can see
that creative, flexible
spaces will slowly replace
cubicles and quiet
hallways. And maybe
that’s for the best.

18. FOR MORE INFO
PLEASE VISIT
SonnyKalsi.com