Council Post: Three Ways To Transform Your Commercial Office Space In Response To Remote Work

By Adam Grant, CEO of Campus Commandos, a top youth marketing agency for marketing products/services to college students, and home gym hobbyist.

Since the pandemic, the ways in which offices and businesses operate have changed greatly. Even though some employees have returned to the office full-time, other businesses have found that the remote work model is good for them. Therefore, employees who once headed to the onsite office each morning now head to their in-home office. This is true in my own company, Campus Commandos.

So, what does this mean for the business and their current office space? After all, some businesses may be in current lease agreements they’re unable to get out of. And since commercial space leases are often longer in term than residential leases, this means a company may be stuck in their current location for five years, ten years or even longer.

If this sounds like your work situation at the moment, don’t panic! There are ways to make lemonade out of lemons and make that available space work for you. Here are some ways my company and others have transformed their office into a workable space that’s worth the rental payment.

Home Gym In The Office

One way to find a use for the now empty space in your office is to add a home gym-style facility to the building. Whether you and a few team members continue to work at your office or you have quite a few employees who still pop in to the office now and again, a gym provides a nice addition to the overall workspace.

The gym equipment you choose and the setup you go with will depend on a few different factors. For my company, I focused on two main factors: equipment that allowed for multiple exercises to happen—a Swiss army knife of equipment—and equipment that could be borrowed by team members for their remote offices.

Items in this second category included dumbbells, kettlebells and silencer pads. Dumbbells and kettlebells come with a lot of variety and options now so you can find what works best for your team. For example, brands like Powerblock and Nuobell have adjustable weights ranging from 5 to 80 lbs., limiting the space they take up and making them more transportable.

Similarly, to minimize noise and vibrations from dropping weights and to help protect the floor, you can get a Rec Surfaces or Great Mats rubber flooring that is made from re-vulcanized recycled rubber, or if you have too small of space, you can use deadlift pads—also known as silencer pads— to keep your neighbors happy by minimizing noise and vibrations from dropping your weights.

By adding a home gym vibe to the office, you can make use of free space and give your employees something to look forward to during their breaks and before/after work.

Increase Space For In-Office Employees

It’s likely that not every employee will work from home. With this in mind, you can take the space formerly occupied by your remote workers and use it to expand the space for each of the employees who still work in the office. Increase the desk size for each employee, add a small filing cabinet or side table and put more room in between your workers. I know of a company that converted their empty walkways into putting greens to create a putting golf course. This will give your in-office employees more room to work and also make the room look less cavernous due to empty desks and seating areas.

Offer Fun And Games

You and your employees deserve a break once in a while. That’s why adding games to your office space is sure to please. You can buy full-size video games for your office or creative arcade cabinets with hundreds of games that can double as a table. Many gaming companies offer fun options for your office, such as Arcade1Up, Retrotink and BirdieBall.

Another option is to invest in an extreme racing simulator. You no longer need tens of thousands of dollars to create a race car driving experience. These days, next-level racing simulators can put you right on the race track from your office. You can even take this up a level by converting unused office TVs into lap leaderboards.

Make Your New Office Situation Work

Times change and so do office work settings. Rather than worry about these changes, put new components into motion and turn your current space into a modern and useful work area. You may need to alter the floor plan in the future, but for now, think about how you can best make use of the current space you pay good money for each month. In addition, your employees who come to the office every day are sure to appreciate the new look and updated accommodations you provide for them.