Imagine taking a client call in the middle of London Zoo, talking amongst a pride of lions or a troop of chimpanzees. This may have seemed like a crazy concept a few years ago, but for some workers, it’s now a reality.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Employees have long been waiting for a more versatile work arrangement, and 2020 forced a new way upon us.

While many people were satisfied with the binary structure offered by hybrid working, some were screaming out for a more flexible way of working, calling for more control over how, when, and where we work—even if amongst the lions.

The answer: fluid working.

This new future-facing way of working centres around creating an adaptable and secure way of working that isn’t tied to a specific physical space, but instead, a state of mind.

But how can you create an environment that accommodates that being at work is now a state of mind, rather than a physical place?

While the nature of fluid work means that where and how you work is completely up to you, there is more to creating an ‘office-like’ state of mind than a desk and a lamp. And just like the office, the goal of fluid working is to be somewhere you can mentally be your most productive.

Fluid working is all about being flexible and being flexible is enabled by having the right technology to keep you connected and your work game undisturbed, wherever.

To ensure that you can keep the work momentum going remotely, we’ve put together a guide highlighting fluid working spaces you and your team can take advantage of.

Coffee shops and cafés

Working in a coffee shop is not just for hopeless romantics and hipsters, some of the most creative minds in history have worked out their ideas in the local café—Bob Dylan, Picasso, and Simone De Beauvoir are amongst the famous faces who have found inspiration amongst the coffee clad tables.  

But why do we love working at coffee shops and cafés? Is it the close proximity to caffeine, the unsocial social aspect, ambient noise or the pressure to be productive as everyone around you?

Studies show there is more than one reason, and spoiler alert: it’s all the above.

Known as The Coffee Shop Effect, the stimuli in these places make them effective fluid working environments due to the combination of noise, visual variety, and casual conversation, giving us the right amount of distraction to help us be our most effective.

As in the office, concentration is contagious. So, when we are surrounded by other like-minded people who have their heads down working, chances are, we will too. Paired with background noise, these places, when not overwhelming, can enhance cognitive flexibility—making them a perfect fluid working environment.

The continuous, low-level ambient noise can enhance creative performance by promoting abstract processing, which allows us to see beyond an idea and focus on the bigger picture. Though, care needs to be taken to ensure your meetings are at least as good as if you were sat together in person. Investing in Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones would be a good shout to eliminate the risk of becoming distracted or becoming a distraction to those around you.

Canal boats

Talking about small spaces, the art of fluid working is that anywhere can be an office—including a canal boat. And renting one to work in temporarily is pretty straightforward. 

These mobile pods can be a unique space to meet your team away from the office or can be ideal for those who want solitude when working. Coupled with technology, small spaces can prove to be a winner for productivity and allow you to slip into a state known as ‘deep work’.

Deep work, a term coined by author Cal Newport refers to an activity performed “in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.” In this kind of setting, you're going to want a reliable device that will keep you connected without distraction.

Working from home: kitchen corners, under the stair hideaways, and designated desks

Working from home is a now common practice in many businesses, with 24% of people in the UK working in a hybrid arrangement; if you are working from home frequently, it is beneficial to have a proper setup at your home office.

Though, just like the office, the décor can influence your thinking. Your goal should be to create an environment that boosts your morale. To this end, assigning a dedicated area in your home as an office space – even if just a corner of your kitchen table – can make a difference to how you perform.

When designing your workspace, you can optimise for colour schemes that have been scientifically proven to boost creativity. Yellow and orange, for example, are both said to inspire creativity, whereas blue is thought to help decision-making.

But the key to cultivating the right state of mind (one that realises the full potential of fluid working) is having the right equipment. If your work requires you to be hovering over a laptop frequently, this can be a real – literal – pain in the neck. Studies show that undergoing tasks repetitively can impact your physical health and posture, according to US Dept of Labour.

To minimise this risk, having an extra computer monitor can improve comfort and boost productivity.  Multi-screen configurations also allow you to work across screens and make it easier to track tasks.

The future of fluid working

Many businesses now offer fluid working opportunities to their employees. For one point of context, 38% of the UK workforce has worked remotely within the past week, and although this is a good step in the right direction, we need to push further to ensure employee satisfaction. Fluid working has begun to take shape—but it’s important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

It’s all about flexibility. To work fluidly is to not being fixed to a certain place or time. But for fluid working to be effective, the right technology is essential. Having an ecosystem that works together effortlessly across devices and back again ensures you can work as efficiently as possible in any setting.

Though we may not all opt to take calls in the middle of London Zoo, the entire point of fluid working is that if you want to take a conference call next to a lion, or on a Ferris wheel, or in a food court, or canal boat, you can.