The Future of the workplace: Sky News Interview with CEO, Rupert Dean

This morning our Co-founder and CEO, Rupert Dean appeared on Sky News to discuss the future of the workplace, and in particular the role that flexible workspaces are playing in supporting the return to work.  Catch-up on the interview below.

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Sky News:
Now, as Coronavirus restrictions begin to ease and more of the economy reopens, office workers are expected to start returning to work in the coming weeks. But after a year of hybrid working and the benefits that it brings, companies are adopting this style for the foreseeable future.

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Sky News:
Well, I'm joined now by Rupert Dean, who is the founder and chief executive of ‎x+why, a flexible workplace provider. Good morning, Rupert. You're trying to adapt to this hybrid working model, how is it different? Because we have seen these workspaces where people can go in, plug in their laptop and work all day. How will this be different?

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Rupert:
The hybrid working model was here before March 2020, but for a smaller number of companies.  I think what companies are really looking for now is a lot more flexibility in how they approach the office space, but also how they engage with their workforce in using it.

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We have all realised we can work at a desk and sit at a coffee table and do some work. But really what the office is about is not sitting at a desk from 9:00 till 5:00.  It's actually about going to a place for culture, for mentorship, for wellbeing, for hospitality, frankly for fun, and to be a core part of the company ‘pull’ for employees to the office today.

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So we are employing practices to promote flexibility in terms of length of contract, in terms of the space allocation that people need, more pay-as-you-use space in order to be able to support companies as they grow and not hold them to longterm contracts. And to be able to support their employees in coming back to the office.

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Sky News:
Right. So it's actually the financial model - the person who wants to come to work with you will actually have that financial flexibility. You also say that your green and innovative workspace, how green are you?

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Rupert:
We work with landlords principally in trying to make their office space greener. Commercial office space is responsible for around 30 to 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so we've all got a responsibility to support that.  But also, what we've worked to with our fit-out and our wellbeing programs is to be able to support members and employees in terms of their use of the space, the quality of the air, the cleanliness of the space, in order to be able to not only promote safety in the workspace, but also to inspire people to be more productive and want to stay for longer.

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Sky News:
But isn't the greener way to just stay at home and not travel into a city center and use up more energy and electricity and petrol, et cetera?

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Rupert:
Definitely. I mean, that to be honest, it’s why we quite like the hybrid way of working and why we promote it. But the reality is also there is an issue with staying at home in terms of productivity, in terms of mental health for some people, and the promotion of wellbeing. So what we're saying is that there's probably a healthy mix of the purpose of the office being to promote productivity and all of those other things, but also no need for needless entry into the office for those reasons you just mentioned. Employees should use the office for the intentional working that it is designed for, not to just sit at a desk, which is not required.

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Sky News:
And how does your business manage to operate with this model? Because of course, we've all heard about how some office buildings might have to completely shut down and change their use type, so to speak. So will you be able to survive with this hybrid model because people won't be filling the seats all the time?

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Rupert:
Yeah. I mean, that's the power of technology to be able to use space, to be able to allow people to use it when they want to, be able to create that sort of transitional flow of people through the building, not relying on people to be in 24/7, 365, if you like. And we work closely with landlords and our own technology to be able to support that program for a range of entities - from entrepreneurs and small to medium to large businesses. I think that what you need to do is create a space for people to be able to come in, come what may, to be able to feel like they can get away from the house and get away from any particular situation. And it's to be able to promote all of those facets to be able to run a successful business.

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Sky News:
Ah, Rupert Dean, it all sounds good. Good way to work flexibly in the new hybrid working system. Rupert Dean, co-founder and CEO of X+why. Thanks very much, indeed.

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Rupert:
Thank you.

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