Smart working and offices: the new transformations

Index

Virtuous examples
The right direction

Hybrid work, which - as we have repeatedly pointed out - involves the combination of office work and remote work, has become increasingly widespread in response to changes in work culture and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies have therefore sought (and are still seeking) to create flexible work environments adapted to the needs of employees, while promoting collaboration and efficiency.

Within this more general framework, the reduction in real estate investments in 2023, focussed above all on offices in Europe and Italy, seems to have recently pushed the main banking groups to take measures to adapt the work environments to the new needs related to the hybrid work model - since the remote operation planned at least two days a week leads to the consequent decrease in the number of desks (and therefore square metres) necessary.

The current transformations in workplaces highlight a change of perspective: we are moving towards an increase in meeting rooms and common areas. So, we can safely say, the theoretical discussions of past years on the restructuring of work environments are now an evolving reality.

Virtuous examples

As with any process of change, the adaptation of work environments to the needs of the hybrid can obviously count on some virtuous examples. The trailblazers that, unquestionably, will mark the history of these transformations.

Let's now see the main banking groups that have taken measures in this direction.

Deutsche Bank Italia, for example, has a large office of 37,000 square metres in the Bicocca area. In this structure, the central body will remain at the disposal of its employees, while the two wings of the building will be rented to third parties - operating in various sectors, ranging from clothing to technologies and innovation - with ten-year contracts.
UniCredit has completed a radical transformation of the headquarters in Piazza Gae Aulenti, giving Tower B a new function: to host companies with sublease contracts. The approximately 8,000 employees in Milan have been redistributed between Tower A and the Lampugnano offices.
Bnp Paribas is currently renting two floors of its skyscraper, the Diamond Tower (composed of a total of 27 floors), located between Viale della Liberazione and Via Galilei.
Intesa Sanpaolo, starting from June 2023, inaugurated the Scheggia, also known as Torre Gioia 22. The structure, spread over 30 floors, is characterised by advanced technology and ecological solutions. In addition to an already operational restaurant and a gym, the tower is ready to accommodate about 3,000 employees of the Group. However, in the rest of Italy, it is reducing the instrumental surface by about 258,000 square metres.

The right direction

Those implemented by these 4 banking giants are choices that, although of a different nature, are grafted on a very precise and recognisable path.

Already a few months ago we presented for example the case of workation promoted by Generali, underlining the importance of this decision and underlining its undoubted benefits, both at the company level and for the individual worker. Exploiting unused space allows you to optimise real estate resources, reducing the costs associated with underutilised buildings. This optimisation is particularly significant in terms of rent, maintenance and utilities.

For NotOnlyDesk, which has long identified the smart philosophy as the key to necessary and functional labour growth, this is just one of the many steps in the right direction. Towards a future that combines flexibility, sustainability and vision.