Stay In The Loop.

How serviced office kitchens increase knowledge sharing

It’s more than just a place to make a cup of tea – the serviced office kitchen is the place where the British equivalent of a ‘watercooler moment’ takes place on a daily basis.

The ‘watercooler moment’ used to refer to a big-money scene in a popular TV show, which would inevitably be discussed around the watercooler the following day.

It has since become a more general term for those informal conversations that happen during a drinks break, including chats about work.

And in UK serviced office kitchens, that’s as likely to take place around a cup of tea as it is around a cup of water.

Why does the office kitchen matter?

Kitchens, canteens and other informal spaces enable quick, productive conversations about all kinds of issues.

Employees can raise minor grievances that they might not feel warrant a full meeting or complaint, or can make suggestions that help improve productivity.

But interestingly – especially in buildings like Serviced Office Company’s serviced offices in Manchester and London – this knowledge sharing can go beyond just one company.

A recent article in the journal Facilities by a team from Eindhoven University of Technology found that in communal spaces, knowledge is shared between different individuals and companies as well as those who work for the same business.

Who shares knowledge?

The researchers found that within an organisation, knowledge is typically shared in more closed environments, whereas across different organisations, more open and relaxed environments are preferred.

And the kitchen or canteen offers a balance between the two, finding favour for both types of knowledge sharing.

In their research paper, the team wrote: “Public and private non-codified knowledge is more frequently shared with people from other organisations by those who more frequently use an event space, lounge space, canteen or consultancy services.

“Knowledge sharing with colleagues within organisations was influenced by the use of individual closed workspaces, meeting spaces and restaurant/canteen and gender.”

More places to share knowledge in serviced offices

At Serviced Office Company we are proud of the rich mix of different individuals and organisations who use our serviced office space and we aim to give you as many places as possible to benefit from sharing your knowledge and expertise.

That includes kitchen facilities so you can make refreshments throughout the day and pick the brains of anyone else who is in there at the time.

We also provide relaxing lounges to use as breakout spaces, to de-stress and recover, and again as a place for informal conversations about work, last night’s TV or anything else you want to talk about.

And finally when you need a more formal space for work-related discussions within your organisation, we have meeting rooms available on-site for you to book as and when you want them.

Together with your own serviced office space, this adds up to plenty of places to share knowledge with your colleagues and with your counterparts from other businesses – allowing everyone to benefit from using serviced office space in a communal building.