* THIS INTERVIEW WITH WILL FIRST APPEARED IN ‘PLUSNET’ *

This document outlines exciting predictions for the way that we could be working in 2030. With the
assistance of fifteen experts, Plusnet has created an image of what might just be the office of the
future.

Says William Higham, author and futurist:

“With the rise of smart phones and tablets, individuals have enormous computer power. The more their
personal technology empowers them, the more autonomous employees will want to be at work. We will see a
growth in project-based teams and a decline in traditional, rigid hierarchies.

“This will have a huge impact on office layout. There’ll be fewer departments and more environments: you
won’t go to, say, the marketing department, you’ll go to the workshopping, stimulus or quiet area depending
on your needs. The more we’re able to customise our personal tech with photos and lock-screens, the less
we’ll worry about having a dedicated desk space and the more we’ll embrace the freedom of hot-desking.

“The more we discover about concentration, efficiency and creativity, the more we realise how important
employees’ physical and mental health is. And with almost £30 billion lost to illness each year, British
employers are likely to embrace the idea. As a result, the office of the future will start to include gyms,
meditation rooms, crèches, doctors, chiropractors, even counsellors.

“And, as stress concerns grow, employees will want to work in a way that best suits their personal social
situation and their body clock, whether that’s 9-5 or 5-9. In the past, this would have been a problem but, with
business increasingly globalised and consumers expecting to be able to interact with brands at all hours of the
day and night, it actually suits tomorrow’s commerce much better.”