The hybrid work model combining home office with office work has become a reality for many companies during the pandemic. What’s more, it’s clear that a return to the original setup is not going to happen. In addition, there are a number of surveys that confirm that employees do not want to go back to the office. The question then arises, how to adapt offices to current needs and how to make them more attractive to employees who have become accustomed to the home office? For the online shopping guide Heureka, the interior design studio Hezkey has created new offices in Prague and Liberec prepared just for the hybrid style of work.
The course of the pandemic shows that the home office concept, which the vast majority of companies use, has its downsides. A recent survey, for example, found that shared space with colleagues has an irreplaceable place in company culture and its absence has a detrimental effect on teamwork. But how do you lure employees used to working from home into the office? This and other tasks related to the effective use of office space are dealt with on a daily basis by the interior design studio Hezkey.
For Heureka, Hezkey has created new offices in their headquarters in Prague and in their offices in Liberec (about an hour from Prague) for their programming teams and redesigned the existing relaxation zones into multifunctional spaces suitable for employee relaxation, collaborative work, a joint workshop, or even a yoga class. Thanks to flexible and modular furniture and equipment, the space can then be easily converted into a company-wide meeting space for more than 50 people.
Offices for Heureka’s growing team
The client, the popular online comparison site Heureka, needed to provide comfortable facilities for 270 people sitting in offices in Prague and Liberec due to the ever-growing number of employees.
“Over the last year, we have welcomed 89 new employees in the Czech Republic and needed to ensure more efficient use of space. Even before the pandemic, we supported the home office and the move to online working was not a problem. Nevertheless, a meeting is still important to us and one of the conditions was to enable Heureka employees to meet comfortably in person,”
explains Martina Chloupková, Head of HR across the Heureka Group, and continues.
Having a choice
Being able to choose where one works today helps the work dynamic. In addition, a lot of the work at Heureka is done in teams, so it is important to be able to bring the team together, or create space for a joint workshop or quick “sync”.In addition to open space, two new types of workspaces have been created. The “workshop room” is a room with a community table that can be easily rearranged – this creates a space for a joint workshop or meeting alongside the workstations. The “Flexi meeting” has tables on wheels that can be moved quickly to free up space.
The offices are also full of less formal seating, whether it’s bar stools or lounge nooks. The most acoustically pleasing solutions for making phone calls are high acoustic chairs and phone booths.
