What is a Touchdown Area in an Office?

In the office setup of the modern 21st century, especially post-pandemic, a home-away-from-home is essential for the mental and physical well-being of your remote employees, and consequently, the optimal functioning of your business. 

Looking for commercial office renovation ideas? Why not add a touchdown area? It is an area that provides an assigned space for your team members that are typically remote or mobile workers who want to come to the office and engage in a bit of face-to-face time. 

Touchdown spaces  are more informal spaces than permanent offices, often featuring things like a lounge, private working pods, collaboration areas, and even a presentation and modern meeting room. 

Not only is having a touchdown area in an office great for your remote employees who want to pop in and engage in the company culture, but it also allows your in-house people to work more comfortably, and take a break from the formal environment of their regular office, without actually leaving the premises.

Touchdown areas are usually furnished with a modular workstation, and equipped with technical equipment, including a fast internet connection to ensure connectivity while working.

What Types of Office Touchdown Area Layouts are There?

Office touchdown areas are an ideal addition to offices that hire a lot of mobile employees since it gives them a common open space to touch base with the company, connect with their coworkers, and move on to their next tasks. 

Additionally, any company following the hybrid mode of working will also greatly benefit from installing touchdown areas in their offices. For a hybrid office, it is estimated that for more than 30% of the workday, assigned areas often remain unused. 

Flexibility in the workforce is the name of the game these days, and incorporating a hybrid model that utilizes staff touchdown areas is simply smart business.

Touchdown Area Layouts

There are a variety of layouts commonly seen in touchdown areas around the world. Some examples are:

Hotel System

One idea is to create a workspace that follows a hot desking or hotel-like system; it works on collaborative space reservations for various employees. The idea is to establish and equip a room with multiple cubicle spaces or workstations, which can then be reserved and used by any visiting employees. This can save the company a lot of space and money. 

Café-Style

One idea to improve the workplace environment is to create a relaxing environment for employees to work in, one office touchdown space idea is one that is set up like a café. Set up single tables for private office work, and tables with multiple chairs to create space for group meetings. The stylish live edge standing desk allows a small group to gather with their laptops. To make it even more realistic, add a snack and coffee bar, or a small kitchenette. 

Break Room 

A touchdown room in the form of a break room can also be a great idea for any office space layout. A breakroom is basically a small workspace equipped with lounge sofas and chairs, and perhaps a coffee table and snack bar. The goal is to create an open space where people can relax, engage in water cooler talk, take personal phone calls, and catch a break with other workers.  

Soundproof Room

A soundproof touchdown room that’s equipped with acoustic panels, along with technical gadgets, is an amazing addition to any private office. You can set up multiple small booths for private work, meeting office pods for small gatherings as well as a bigger meeting room for group collaborations.

What are the Benefits of an Office Touchdown Area?

There are multiple benefits to incorporating touchdown areas into your office planning and modern office design, but our top three are listed below.

Boosts Productivity

When employees get the chance to relax and get their bearings for a minute during their workday, without having to leave the office or get to work and collaborate without the formalities of an official office space, there can be a marked increase in productivity. When productivity rises, everyone benefits!

Provides Private Space 

A touchdown space designed with private booths and workstations can be a great boon to employees that long for a private space to work and concentrate on the task at hand. This is especially true if your business sees a lot of the hustle and bustle throughout the day.

Cost Effective

Since touchdown spaces create an area where any team member can visit to work in, or relax and network with other people; it eliminates the need to assign a specific place for each employee. This can lead to cost benefits you wouldn’t otherwise have when assigning employees permanent offices or cubicles. 

Touchdown workstations just make sense in today’s rapidly evolving work economy. More people are less concerned with slaving away chained to a desk all day and more concerned with designing a work-life balance that suits their needs and personalities. When companies recognize this and adapt their staff workspaces and look to office reconfiguration to meet these needs, the result is a happy team and a positive company culture.