Reconstructing the workspace

Manish Bahl, AVP, Center for the Future of Work, Cognizant, on how AI is impacting the workplace and why we should design spaces that are upgradable and adaptable to match ever-changing organisations

- RASHMI NAICKER

A community plaza for employees to gather, learn and play. Car-free zones and routes for bicyclists. Energy-optimised smart buildings; spaces to spark creativity within teammates; trees, trails, and transit nearby. A major transition has dawned upon the workspace sector and its pace is only increasing as time goes by.

Trends set in and fade away at the blink of an eye. Given this, Commercial Design explores the very aspects that shape the future of workspaces. We rightly so set off on this task with Manish Bahl, AVP at the Center for the Future of Work in Cognizant. A passionate futurist and advisor with a compelling perspective on technology and its impact on jobs, individuals, society, and the future of work, Bhal shares his thoughts on the future of workspaces by quoting from an e-book, recently published by the company, titled “From and To”.

The name of the report implies its format and structure: “from” describes where we are, and “to” describes where we’re going. The report covers 42 ideas organised around five main themes: â– The Way We Work: How we do what we do

*The Tools of Work: The apps, systems, networks, tools and processes that we use

*The Aesthetics of Work: What work looks like; how it feels

*The Issues with Work: When and why work is work

*The Meaning of Work: What gets us out of bed and makes us proud