Working 9-5: is this the way to make a living?

One company who is well aware of the need for flexible working environments is Regus – the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces with160 business centres across the UK including the Peterborough centre in Stuart House, St John’s Street which opened in 2008. The profile of its customer base has changed dramatically over those 5 years, as customers demand more flexible facilities to reflect their modern work style. Today, the Regus centre provides a range of workspace options from offices on a permanent, shared or part-time basis to meeting rooms and a drop-in business lounge, as well as Virtual Office services and administrative support.

Regus is a pioneer in supporting “third place” working. Third place workers are those who work neither at home nor in a traditional company office. One of the first “third place” work hubs in the UK was recently opened at the A14 Cambridge services, thanks to a partnership between Regus and Extra Motorway Service Area Group.

Steve Purdy, UK Managing Director at Regus comments:

New business enquiry rates for flexible workspace are at an all- time high. Businesses are turning their backs on the twentieth century model of long leases, fixed overheads, commuting and the ‘9 to 5’ day. In fact they are questioning the whole concept of ‘the office’. Work has become something you do, rather than somewhere you go. Those companies that have a ‘full time’ managed office with us are usually motivated by convenience – they can simply move in, plug in and get to work – and scalability, which has become especially crucial in today’s volatile economic environment. However, three quarters of our customers don’t have a permanent office with us nowadays. They are using our on-demand workspace such as the business lounges, Day Offices or meeting rooms. The biggest growth area of our business is Regus Businessworld, a membership scheme providing drop-in access to any of our business lounges in the world, designed to cater for the rising number of people working flexibly and on the move. You go into the Regus centre and you’ll see a real mixture of local start-ups, growing SMEs and international corporations, working in the same environment and each using the space to work their way. Overall, we attribute the consistently strong demand for our services to the rising number of the region’s businesses looking for workspace support that gives them good financial value, minimizes business risk and improves productivity

The “Regus in a Box” range of products are designed for small businesses and mobile workers. Prices start at £10 for a hot desk for the day. They can be bought from Staples, WH Smith travel stores or www.regusdirect.co.uk

Case Study

City Resource Limited

Many local firms use the Peterborough centre as a more productive alternative to working from home. City Resource Limited is a local recruitment agency that specialises in supplying candidates to the engineering, industrial and logistics sectors. It is an example of a small business that used the Regus centre to take the step up from home working.

Andy Jones, Director, explains:

I founded the company in 2008 and like many start-ups, I was initially working from home – in fact, in my back garden! But then another member came on board as a partner and it was obvious that we could no longer work in a domestic environment. Plus, we increasingly needed to meet employers as well as interview candidates and where you work makes such a difference to the all- important first impression

Andy chose the Regus centre in Peterborough as his new base.

When we moved in, it really felt like we’d stepped up a level. The offices are professional, pristine and the reception services and capacity of the centre makes running our business a lot easier.

The prestigious image quickly paid off, helping us create good working relationships with several large blue chip companies. We’ve even helped our clients out by booking meeting rooms here. For instance, one client had to interview a candidate for a job role but because of privacy couldn’t do it on-site. They were very impressed with the professionalism and the surroundings

He agrees that flexibility is vital today.

We didn’t want to tie ourselves down to a three or five-year lease, which can be a real burden in times like these. We signed for just 12 months and know what the cost is every month – there are no surprises

Capacity for future growth is a key reason that small, ambitious firms choose Regus.
Andy says,

We’ve now moved to two smaller rooms instead of one large one and this was all sorted with minimal disruption to our daily business. At the Regus centre we can just focus on doing our jobs

He adds,

For me personally, an added benefit of ‘going to work’ rather than working at home is that it allows me to separate my work and home life. It’s actually easier to manage your workload when you have the enforced discipline of a professional environment. The days of 9-5 may be well and truly gone but choosing the right workplace can have a major impact on your work-life balance