The Extended Workplace: A Q&A with Andy Lake

The concept of the workplace has evolved far beyond traditional office environments. Andy Lake, Director of Flexibility.co.uk explores the benefits and challenges of the extended workplace.

The Extended Workplace: A Q&A with Andy Lake

The Extended Workplace: A Q&A with Andy Lake

The concept of the workplace has evolved far beyond traditional office environments. We sat down with Andy Lake, Director of Flexibility.co.uk, and a leading voice in the world of Smart Working and flexible workplace strategies, to discuss what the "extended workplace" entails, its benefits, and its challenges.

What is the "extended workplace," and how has it evolved in recent years?

The extended workplace encompasses all the environments where work can occur. This includes four physical domains – organisation owned, third party owned, public, and personal spaces—and the virtual workplace, which connects them all.

Too often, the debate around work is framed in simplistic terms: office versus home. By considering the extended workplace, we open the conversation to a much richer array of possibilities for where and how work happens.

Why has work moved to so many different locations?

Digitisation has fundamentally changed how we approach work. While offices once centralised administrative tasks, technology now allows work to happen almost anywhere. Organisations must now evaluate which locations are best suited to specific tasks, moving beyond the assumption that the traditional office is the default. The office needs to justify its usefulness, and often it just can’t.

What are the main challenges organisations face in supporting employees across diverse work environments?

“Mindset” is the biggest hurdle. Many still attempt to impose traditional office-based practices onto distributed models. For example, online meetings often mirror in-person ones rather than leveraging tools designed for virtual collaboration. The reaction is to want to pull people back to the office to meet, or saying “home is for focus work, the office is for collaboration”. Instead, they should be totally rethinking how work is done, rethinking meetings and aiming for flexible collaboration using the range of tools and techniques that are available. To succeed, organisations must rethink how work is done and adopt an innovation mindset.

I’ve been helping organisations move to more distributed models of work for nearly three decades now. It can be done, and there are known solutions to the issues that people anticipate – like how to manage a more distributed workforce when managers are used to managing by presence or by line of sight. So moving to working across an Extended Workplace successfully absolutely requires an innovation mindset – how can we do what we do better, and how can we make the work experience better, wherever people are working?

What benefits does the extended workplace offer employees?

The key benefit is “choice”. Employees gain autonomy over how they organise their work, leading to reduced stress, improved well-being, and greater productivity. Flexible working also empowers employees to better align their work with personal responsibilities and preferences. Employees need to be trusted to do so, on a team and individual level.

I think it also goes beyond the concept of balance and is a key factor in supporting work-life harmony. Being able to align work with one’s other priorities in life, which can vary and change at different stages of life. So, whether that’s to do with caring responsibilities, or learning new skills, volunteering, or maybe managing an illness or condition, flexibility of place along with flexibility in time enables better management of the interface between work and the rest of life.

How can employers leverage the extended workplace to attract and retain talent?

Flexibility is now the second most important factor after salary when people choose jobs. Organisations that embrace location and schedule flexibility can attract a more diverse workforce and retain valued employees. Flexibility of time is also important here, not just location.

Does working from varied locations improve productivity and creativity?

Yes, if it’s part of a well-thought-out change programme. For example, voluntary home working rather than on a forced basis, has been shown to boost productivity, while mobile working reduces unnecessary commutes. To maximise the productivity benefits, new ways of working together, new management behaviours and sometimes new systems are necessary. But that’s only about working from home. There have been studies showing how mobile workers can become more productive by being able to eliminate trips back to the office, and just touch down near their last visit, or work from a client site.

Creativity also benefits from flexibility, as people can choose environments that best suit their tasks—whether for focused individual work or collaborative innovation.

But the main thing is that working more flexibly should catalyse a switch to “managing by results” – bringing a sharper focus on what are the required outputs and outcomes of work, keeping track of work-in-progress in new ways, etc.

What role does technology play in enabling the extended workplace?

Technology is the backbone of the extended workplace. Tools like lightweight devices, ergonomic setups, and secure digital platforms ensure employees can work effectively from anywhere. Video conferencing, augmented reality, and portable screens are just a few examples of how innovation supports flexibility.

One way to implement technological policies, is in effect, to treat all employees as ‘remote’, even when working in the organisation’s own buildings. So, people are working to the same standards of security wherever they are.

What are the must-have features of a productive mobile workspace?

People who work across the Extended Workplace essentially carry the means of access to their digital workplace with them.

  • Frictionless access to data and applications.
  • Lightweight and portable devices.
  • Ergonomic equipment such as a laptop bag, laptop riser, separate keyboard, and mouse.
  • Ability to connect to larger or multiple screens when working for longer periods.
  • A great acoustic environment for focus and collaboration.
  • Space to move around and access to refreshments.

For many mobile workers with hands-on kinds of work, kit may include ruggedised laptops, tablets or other handheld devices, and helmet-mounted cameras and screens so remote colleagues can work with them and being able to access additional information through augmented reality.

What are the biggest health and well-being challenges for employees working across multiple spaces?

One of the problems with the way it is often framed is in assuming that the traditional workplace is the benchmark of health and wellbeing. Often, it’s the problem. So being away from workplaces with poor lighting, air quality, acoustics and so forth, and working in a setting where one has some control over these factors can be an important area of choice-based improvement

How can organisations ensure fairness and inclusivity in an extended workplace model?

Fairness across the board requires an approach of “flexibility as normal”. Not as exception. Not based on being a privilege. It involves exploring the potential for place-flexibility and time-flexibility of the work tasks that people do. Where many organisations go wrong is thinking it’s about roles, rather than digging down into the work activities involved. It’s great to engage teams in doing this. The other mistake is in focusing on how work has been done, rather than how with some innovation or change in process it could be done differently. I’ve found people love to be involved in the process. It’s about engaging people in conversations about improvement.

What does the future of the extended workplace look like?

The decentralisation of work is unstoppable.

Though there has been some high-profile reaction against modernisation of working practices, with “Return to Office” policies (especially in America), the decentralisation of work is a well-established and unstoppable trend. It’s been building over 30 years or so, and now with further waves of digitisation, new platforms for work, and more immersive communication technologies coming over the horizon – plus increasing amounts of hands-on work being automated and being capable of being managed from anywhere – all this means there is rarely any value in trying to concentrate everything in one place.

It's notable how organisations founded since 2010 tend to have a much more flexible approach to how, when and where people work. They are less likely to invest in expensive HQ buildings and are more likely to operate on a distributed basis. Organisations and their CFOs are looking to keep the lid on real estate costs and are looking for greater flexibility.

We’re not talking ‘death of the office‘,  but offices will be smaller while the workplace as a whole gets ever larger. Over the next decade we’ll be seeing organisation-owned workplaces being less oriented around desks, and more around collaboration. That’s happening already, with activity-based work design and a greater focus on collaboration. Where the innovation will come is in designing workplaces better for interaction between people on site and people at other sites. In other words, designed less for the either/or of hybrid work and for more fluidity of work across boundaries. 

I also expect to see greater innovation in creating much better spaces for work in home environments and in local communities.

Future workplaces will be fluid, boundaryless, and designed for seamless interaction across all environments.

Andy’s insights remind us that the extended workplace is more than a trend—it’s the future of work. By embracing this model, organisations can foster flexibility, innovation, and well-being for their teams.

 

More about Andy Lake


Andy Lake is a thought leader in Smart Working and the author of Beyond Hybrid Working: A Smarter and Transformational Approach to Flexible Working (Routledge, 2024). As the Director of Flexibility.co.uk and a consultant in flexible working models, Andy has driven transformative changes across private, public, and voluntary sectors. His extensive research and advisory roles for the UK Cabinet Office, European Commission, and others have established him as a key figure in the development of flexible work practices, including his role as the technical author for British Standards PAS3000: Code of Practice for Smart Working. Andy also runs the Smart Work Network, fostering peer collaboration on Smart and Flexible Working innovations.

 Find out more about Andy here: https://flexibility.co.uk/about-andy-lake/

Beyond Hybrid Working: A Smarter and Transformational Approach to Flexible Working (Routledge, 2024). https://flexibility.co.uk/the-book-to-help-you-move-beyond-hybrid-working/

The Smart Working Handbook can be downloaded from:  https://flexibility.co.uk/product/smart-working-handbook-3rd-edition/

 

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{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "articleBody": "The concept of the workplace has evolved far beyond traditional office environments. We sat down with Andy Lake, Director of Flexibility.co.uk, and a leading voice in the world of Smart Working and flexible workplace strategies, to discuss what the \"extended workplace\" entails, its benefits, and its challenges.\nWhat is the \"extended workplace,\" and how has it evolved in recent years?\nThe extended workplace encompasses all the environments where work can occur. This includes four physical domains – organisation owned, third party owned, public, and personal spaces—and the virtual workplace, which connects them all.\nToo often, the debate around work is framed in simplistic terms: office versus home. By considering the extended workplace, we open the conversation to a much richer array of possibilities for where and how work happens.\n\nWhy has work moved to so many different locations?\nDigitisation has fundamentally changed how we approach work. While offices once centralised administrative tasks, technology now allows work to happen almost anywhere. Organisations must now evaluate which locations are best suited to specific tasks, moving beyond the assumption that the traditional office is the default. The office needs to justify its usefulness, and often it just can’t.\nWhat are the main challenges organisations face in supporting employees across diverse work environments?\n“Mindset” is the biggest hurdle. Many still attempt to impose traditional office-based practices onto distributed models. For example, online meetings often mirror in-person ones rather than leveraging tools designed for virtual collaboration. The reaction is to want to pull people back to the office to meet, or saying “home is for focus work, the office is for collaboration”. Instead, they should be totally rethinking how work is done, rethinking meetings and aiming for flexible collaboration using the range of tools and techniques that are available. To succeed, organisations must rethink how work is done and adopt an innovation mindset.\nI’ve been helping organisations move to more distributed models of work for nearly three decades now. It can be done, and there are known solutions to the issues that people anticipate – like how to manage a more distributed workforce when managers are used to managing by presence or by line of sight. So moving to working across an Extended Workplace successfully absolutely requires an innovation mindset – how can we do what we do better, and how can we make the work experience better, wherever people are working?\n\nWhat benefits does the extended workplace offer employees?\nThe key benefit is “choice”. Employees gain autonomy over how they organise their work, leading to reduced stress, improved well-being, and greater productivity. Flexible working also empowers employees to better align their work with personal responsibilities and preferences. Employees need to be trusted to do so, on a team and individual level.\nI think it also goes beyond the concept of balance and is a key factor in supporting work-life harmony. Being able to align work with one’s other priorities in life, which can vary and change at different stages of life. So, whether that’s to do with caring responsibilities, or learning new skills, volunteering, or maybe managing an illness or condition, flexibility of place along with flexibility in time enables better management of the interface between work and the rest of life.\nHow can employers leverage the extended workplace to attract and retain talent?\nFlexibility is now the second most important factor after salary when people choose jobs. Organisations that embrace location and schedule flexibility can attract a more diverse workforce and retain valued employees. Flexibility of time is also important here, not just location.\nDoes working from varied locations improve productivity and creativity?\nYes, if it’s part of a well-thought-out change programme. For example, voluntary home working rather than on a forced basis, has been shown to boost productivity, while mobile working reduces unnecessary commutes. To maximise the productivity benefits, new ways of working together, new management behaviours and sometimes new systems are necessary. But that’s only about working from home. There have been studies showing how mobile workers can become more productive by being able to eliminate trips back to the office, and just touch down near their last visit, or work from a client site.\nCreativity also benefits from flexibility, as people can choose environments that best suit their tasks—whether for focused individual work or collaborative innovation.\nBut the main thing is that working more flexibly should catalyse a switch to “managing by results” – bringing a sharper focus on what are the required outputs and outcomes of work, keeping track of work-in-progress in new ways, etc.\nWhat role does technology play in enabling the extended workplace?\nTechnology is the backbone of the extended workplace. Tools like lightweight devices, ergonomic setups, and secure digital platforms ensure employees can work effectively from anywhere. Video conferencing, augmented reality, and portable screens are just a few examples of how innovation supports flexibility.\nOne way to implement technological policies, is in effect, to treat all employees as ‘remote’, even when working in the organisation’s own buildings. So, people are working to the same standards of security wherever they are.\n\nWhat are the must-have features of a productive mobile workspace?\nPeople who work across the Extended Workplace essentially carry the means of access to their digital workplace with them.\n\nFrictionless access to data and applications.\nLightweight and portable devices.\nErgonomic equipment such as a laptop bag, laptop riser, separate keyboard, and mouse.\nAbility to connect to larger or multiple screens when working for longer periods.\nA great acoustic environment for focus and collaboration.\nSpace to move around and access to refreshments.\n\nFor many mobile workers with hands-on kinds of work, kit may include ruggedised laptops, tablets or other handheld devices, and helmet-mounted cameras and screens so remote colleagues can work with them and being able to access additional information through augmented reality.\nWhat are the biggest health and well-being challenges for employees working across multiple spaces?\nOne of the problems with the way it is often framed is in assuming that the traditional workplace is the benchmark of health and wellbeing. Often, it’s the problem. So being away from workplaces with poor lighting, air quality, acoustics and so forth, and working in a setting where one has some control over these factors can be an important area of choice-based improvement\nHow can organisations ensure fairness and inclusivity in an extended workplace model?\nFairness across the board requires an approach of “flexibility as normal”. Not as exception. Not based on being a privilege. It involves exploring the potential for place-flexibility and time-flexibility of the work tasks that people do. Where many organisations go wrong is thinking it’s about roles, rather than digging down into the work activities involved. It’s great to engage teams in doing this. The other mistake is in focusing on how work has been done, rather than how with some innovation or change in process it could be done differently. I’ve found people love to be involved in the process. It’s about engaging people in conversations about improvement.\nWhat does the future of the extended workplace look like?\nThe decentralisation of work is unstoppable.\nThough there has been some high-profile reaction against modernisation of working practices, with “Return to Office” policies (especially in America), the decentralisation of work is a well-established and unstoppable trend. It’s been building over 30 years or so, and now with further waves of digitisation, new platforms for work, and more immersive communication technologies coming over the horizon – plus increasing amounts of hands-on work being automated and being capable of being managed from anywhere – all this means there is rarely any value in trying to concentrate everything in one place.\nIt's notable how organisations founded since 2010 tend to have a much more flexible approach to how, when and where people work. They are less likely to invest in expensive HQ buildings and are more likely to operate on a distributed basis. Organisations and their CFOs are looking to keep the lid on real estate costs and are looking for greater flexibility.\nWe’re not talking ‘death of the office‘,  but offices will be smaller while the workplace as a whole gets ever larger. Over the next decade we’ll be seeing organisation-owned workplaces being less oriented around desks, and more around collaboration. That’s happening already, with activity-based work design and a greater focus on collaboration. Where the innovation will come is in designing workplaces better for interaction between people on site and people at other sites. In other words, designed less for the either\/or of hybrid work and for more fluidity of work across boundaries. \nI also expect to see greater innovation in creating much better spaces for work in home environments and in local communities.\nFuture workplaces will be fluid, boundaryless, and designed for seamless interaction across all environments.\nAndy’s insights remind us that the extended workplace is more than a trend—it’s the future of work. By embracing this model, organisations can foster flexibility, innovation, and well-being for their teams.\n \nMore about Andy Lake\n Andy Lake is a thought leader in Smart Working and the author of Beyond Hybrid Working: A Smarter and Transformational Approach to Flexible Working (Routledge, 2024). As the Director of Flexibility.co.uk and a consultant in flexible working models, Andy has driven transformative changes across private, public, and voluntary sectors. His extensive research and advisory roles for the UK Cabinet Office, European Commission, and others have established him as a key figure in the development of flexible work practices, including his role as the technical author for British Standards PAS3000: Code of Practice for Smart Working. 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