Wherever you look, people are abandoning offices and choosing to work from home. According to the Work Foundation's Time to go Home report, over two million people now work remotely for at least one day a week—a figure that has grown by an average 13 per cent a year since 1997.
Growth is highest among employees, who outnumber the self-employed. And it's driven by the workforce, not organisations.

Employees, often managers and, frequently men, complain they can't concentrate in the office because the open-plan design makes it too noisy. After a long commute, they're exhausted and uninspired by the prospect of a "9-5" day at their desk.

At home, there are fewer interruptions. They achieve a better work-life balance (by popping to the gym or picking up their children from school when they want). They can avoid a stressful commute and therefore work longer. They can work in healthier environments—at home you can open windows, adjust heating controls and weather permitting, even work outside.

There's more space, and food and drink is often better and cheaper. Working from home can be healthier, providing employees have the right equipment, such as a supportive chair. And being able to alternate between working at a laptop and walking around on the phone to stretching out on a sofa to read a document is better for our long-term health.

This steady increase in people working from home part of the time is a strong vote of no-confidence in the office and a reflection of its failure to provide the right environment and facilities. Workplaces must become inspirational productive spaces so that employees don't feel they have to go elsewhere to get their real work done.

So what can you do to make the office a more desirable and productive place to work? One answer is to make the workplace more of a domestic environment. Allow people to be flexible in the space they work—set up a WiFi building with break-out spaces so that employees can get together and work, and be inspired, in less rigid spaces. Introduce areas with softer lighting and colours, perhaps even with background music or
TVs. Improve the catering: if your organisation's size warrants it, introduce something like a Starbucks concession, which benefits employees and boosts your bottom line.

But don't assume that installing a comfy sofa area is a panacea to your flexibility problems. If your organisation equates work with being at a desk, then there must be a change in culture (driven from the top) to ensure that employees use these spaces.

Offices generally operate an "8-6" day, which creates a preconceived idea about when people want to work and are best inspired. How about creating a 24/7 culture so that people can come and go when they want? Yes, you need to trust your employees, but in a results-driven rather than a presenteeism culture, flexibility works.

It is also likely to attract and retain staff, and boost your organisation's family friendly image—important because from April, those caring for adults will acquire the same right to flexible working currently enjoyed by parents.
Some organisations have created fantastic "village" spaces with sports, entertainment, gym and crèche facilities. This often means that employees actually stay longer at work, because the workplace is seen as a positive environment.

Cathy Hayward is editor of FM World, the magazine for the British Institute of Facilities Management. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Visit: www.bifm.org.uk