What Is Activity Based Working?

A quiet booth for focused work. A shared table for project reviews. A lounge corner for informal catch-ups. If you are asking what is activity based working, the simplest answer is this: it is a workplace model where people choose the setting that best supports the task in front of them.

Rather than assigning one fixed desk to each employee, activity based working gives people access to a range of work settings. The aim is not flexibility for its own sake. It is to create better conditions for concentration, collaboration, calls, planning, and movement through the day.

What is activity based working in practice?

Activity based working, often shortened to ABW, is built around a simple principle: different types of work need different environments. A finance analyst reviewing data, a designer sharing concepts with a client, and a manager conducting a one-to-one conversation do not need the same setup.

In a traditional office, everyone is often placed in broadly the same environment, whether or not it suits the work. In an activity based workplace, the office is divided into zones designed around use. That might include quiet areas, meeting rooms, touchdown desks, team tables, phone booths, and informal spaces.

Employees move between these settings depending on what they need to do. Some organisations pair this with desk sharing and clean desk policies, while others combine ABW with bookable spaces or neighbourhood-based team areas. The model can be highly structured or relatively light-touch. That is one reason implementation quality matters so much.

Why organisations adopt activity based working

The appeal of ABW is not just space efficiency, although that often plays a part. Done well, it can support a better employee experience and a more intentional office.

For workplace leaders, ABW offers a way to align physical space with how work actually happens. Most teams no longer spend five days a week doing the same tasks in the same location. Hybrid patterns, project-based work, and digital collaboration have changed the rhythm of office life. Offices need to reflect that reality.

For employees, the benefit is choice with purpose. A well-designed ABW environment can reduce unnecessary noise, make collaboration easier, and support more ergonomic working across different settings. It can also help the office feel less static and more responsive.

That said, activity based working is not automatically better than assigned seating. If quiet space is limited, storage is inadequate, or people spend half the morning looking for somewhere to sit, the model quickly loses credibility. The concept is strong. The execution has to be equally strong.

The core elements of an activity based workplace

At its best, ABW is a system rather than a furniture layout. It depends on the relationship between space, behaviour, technology, and daily routines.

The first element is variety. People need a clear mix of spaces for focused work, collaboration, private conversations, short stays, and longer sessions. If every area feels the same, the workplace is not really activity based.

The second is clarity. Users should be able to understand where to go and what each setting is for without friction. Quiet zones need to feel genuinely quiet. Collaborative zones need to support talking, sharing screens, and spontaneous teamwork.

The third is mobility. If people are expected to move through the day, they need an easy way to carry and organise their essential tools. Laptop, charger, notebook, headset, mouse, and personal items all need to move with them. This is where many ABW strategies succeed or fail. The workspace may be flexible, but if the individual setup is messy, slow to unpack, or ergonomically poor, the experience becomes frustrating.

The fourth is etiquette. Shared environments need shared rules. That covers everything from booking behaviour to noise levels, storage, tidiness, and how long a desk can be left unattended.

What is activity based working not?

It is not simply hot desking with a new label. Hot desking usually means employees use any available desk, often with a focus on occupancy. Activity based working goes further by designing a range of settings around actual work modes.

It is also not an excuse to reduce desks without improving the overall workplace. If an office removes assigned seating but adds little else, employees will notice the gap immediately.

And it is not a one-size-fits-all model. Some roles need more storage, more privacy, or more equipment than others. Legal teams, customer support functions, design departments, and leadership groups may all use the workplace differently. A credible ABW strategy accounts for that.

The benefits and the trade-offs

ABW can make the office feel more useful. Instead of commuting in to sit on video calls at a fixed desk all day, people have access to settings designed for the reasons they came in. That often improves the quality of collaborative time and gives individuals more control over focused work.

It can also support cleaner, calmer environments. Shared desks tend to work best when setups are portable and easy to reset. For organisations that care about presentation, consistency, and efficient use of space, that matters.

There are trade-offs, though. Some employees value territorial stability and routine. Others may find daily setup and movement tiring if the office lacks the right support. Team cohesion can also suffer if people are too dispersed or if neighbourhood areas are poorly defined.

This is why the best ABW offices balance freedom with structure. They create choice, but not ambiguity. They support movement, but not constant disruption.

What teams need for activity based working to function well

Space planning is only one part of the answer. People also need practical tools that make mobility feel effortless.

A laptop without a stand can turn any flexible desk into a poor ergonomic compromise. A shared desk without a simple way to organise cables, stationery, and daily equipment can become cluttered within minutes. A clean desk policy without portable storage often leads to minor but constant friction.

In other words, ABW works best when the workplace and the personal setup are designed together. Portable organisers, compact laptop stands, desk mats, and work bags are not accessories in the decorative sense. In flexible environments, they become part of the operating system. They help employees arrive, set up quickly, work comfortably, and leave the space ready for the next person.

For office planners and facility teams, this matters because employee experience is shaped by small repeated actions. If setup takes thirty seconds instead of ten minutes, the workplace feels lighter. If essential items stay organised between home, office, and shared desk, people are more likely to use the office as intended.

Designing activity based working around real behaviour

The most effective ABW strategies start with observation, not theory. How much focused work actually happens in the office? How often do teams need enclosed rooms? What do people carry each day? Where does clutter build up? Which spaces are always full, and which are avoided?

Those questions lead to better decisions than abstract space ratios alone. They also reveal where support products and workplace rules need to work harder.

For example, a creative team may need large shared surfaces for review sessions but also compact personal kits that travel easily between desks. A consultancy team may need touchdown points near meeting areas and lightweight tools that maintain a consistent setup wherever they land. In both cases, the principle is the same: flexibility only feels premium when it is well organised.

That is where design quality becomes practical, not cosmetic. Thoughtful materials, durable construction, and a clear place for every item help mobile work feel composed rather than temporary. Gustav approaches this with the same logic as workplace planning itself - fewer elements, better resolved.

Is activity based working right for every office?

Not always in pure form. Some organisations need a hybrid model with a mix of assigned desks, bookable settings, and shared activity zones. Others may adopt ABW principles in selected areas rather than across an entire floorplate.

The right question is usually not whether to adopt activity based working as a label. It is whether your workplace supports the actual activities your people perform, and whether the daily setup feels simple enough to repeat.

When the answer is yes, ABW can create an office that feels more intentional, more efficient, and easier to use. And in a working world shaped by movement, that clarity is often what people value most.