Flexible Workplace: Benefits and Concerns in Facilities Management

Abstract

Change in organization is inevitable. In a workplace, an office worker is relating to an organizationin a new way. The growth of business and economy has highly influenced upon the increasing cost of realestate. Many companies cannot afford office space rent, which becomes the second highest cost of totalexpenses. Furthermore, changes in organizational work pattern, people lifestyle and technological developmentalso influence upon new expectations of the office’s physical environment. Through reviewing driving forcesand a number of cases, potential benefits and concerns of flexible workplace are identified together withproposition of critical roles of facilities managers regarding the changing ways of working. This paper aimsto examine the ways of achieving high performance workplace and the implication to facilities managementin the context of flexible workplace.