Third Spaces - A New, Hybrid Way of Working for Businesses
The team at Moon Executive Search have been speaking with business owners who are searching for new methods of working with their teams to maximise their output and productivity.
Covid has made an enormous impact on the traditional working week. Working from home has changed the way that businesses are functioning, and many companies have changed their processes to adopt hybrid working to attract the best talent.
The working week has changed immensely with an increase in shorter work weeks and a more flexible working environment with some businesses adopting a third working space. This is an idea that has become popular post-lockdown as part of the hybrid working models adopted by businesses looking to bring fresh ideas into their work. A space away from office and home where the team can meet and share their thoughts in a different environment.
The concept of a Third Space is a not new one. Urban Sociologist, Ray Oldenberg wrote about the idea in his book ‘Celebrating the Third Space’ in 1991 and the social isolation of the pandemic created a vacuum of interacting with others, workplaces included.
Third spaces can allow individuals to put aside their concerns and enjoy the company and conversation around them which in turn can spur creative and collaborative thinking that may not occur at home or in the office. The change of situation often creates conversation between colleagues who would not normally speak on a usual working day.
There are lots of different locations that can act as a third space, some of them are weather dependant. Coffee shops, beer gardens, pubs and cafés are all prime locations and act as a fresh setting, relaxing the formulaic nature of the office and connecting the team away from the tedium of virtual calls.
We spoke to Amie Thompson, the Community Manager at Gather Round about the world of hybrid work. Gather Round offers creative workspaces, designed to foster a positive community of like-minded creative people through an open and supportive culture:
‘Gather Round was born with one singular vision in mind: to design and build spaces specifically for creative endeavours and creative people. As circumstances have dictated, there’s been a paradigm shift in how people work; so, we’ve listened to what our audience needs and wants from a workspace today.
Now more than ever, people crave human connection. Zoom meeting and Slack chats - although fantastic - just don’t compensate for real life interactions. We’re proud that our co-working spaces help to bring people back together, whether that’s via a work collaboration or enjoying one of our campfire talks.
Although none of our memberships enforce lengthy tie ins, some people may feel apprehensive about taking on a co-working membership right now. That’s why we decided to offer a Part-Time Flexi membership option at the new Gather Round Brunswick Square. It’s ideal for remote workers who want greater flexibility but for just two days a week.
Many of our members are enjoying a hybrid model of working; combining working from home with working from Gather Round. Some of which have been able to downsize their studio space and reduce costs, as they don’t require all their team to be in at the same time (and if they do - there’s always meeting rooms and break-out spaces).’
A third workplace can be used routinely as part of an organisations working week or for a monthly meeting. Just as the pandemic has urged many businesses to change their formal dress codes, the hybrid model of work has created a new industry of coworking and collaborative spaces free from the restraints of the office where ideas and opinions can be exchanged freely.
The role of the team at Moon is to understand and listen to our clients to help find the transformational leaders of tomorrow and who can then reshape strategy and anticipate the digital, economic, and trends that are reshaping this new business world.
We work with businesses on executive search campaigns to appoint transformative individuals to fill senior positions with for Private Equity backed and Listed Groups, as well as SMEs, and the Charity Sector.
Call the team to find out more about how we add value to our clients.
