What value should be depicted in office space?Work-life balance is a rising trend nowadays. It shows what young people today consider important. Why do we talk about work-life balance? In the past, the majority of Koreans thought that spending a lot of time at work is the key to living a virtuous life. As a result, the individual’s role in life became so small and insignificant. As more and more people refuse to give up their family life or personal interests, they believe that an ideal job should have no overtime work and provide enough time for personal life. It could be said that the idea of work-life balance is to spend less time at work and focus more on other things in life.

While work-life balance is becoming a worldwide trend, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed that he does not support this idea. He says that the term “work-life balance” implies a strict trade-off between the two. Instead, he thinks of professional and personal pursuits as a “circle” rather than a balancing act. Spending time at home gives plenty of energy to work, and a happy day at work brings positive energy to take home.

It would be great if people could think of work not only as a means of making money but as part of a happy life. Happiness at work means more than getting off on time or receiving incentives or employee benefits. It is about higher values such as finding meaning and purpose, developing a sense of pride and accomplishment, presenting one’s opinion and working independently, achieving positive results and being recognized, creating synergy between coworkers, and promoting personal growth. Based on such ideas, we adopted two design concepts for One Day Dental Clinic. First, we designed “experience” to enhance productivity in a happy working environment. Second, we designed a “culture” where users can share the same space and work in collaboration.

The office at One Day Dental Clinic was designed as a space to promote cooperation between different branches and units. It had to be an adequate place for service training and conducting classes and events. Therefore, we adopted the concept of a public house, which used to be the focal point of communal gathering in old England. A public house or pub is familiar to us as a place that serves alcoholic drinks. In the past, it was also a place for communication and entertainment. We used this motif to design a space for increasing productivity through refreshment and mutual communication.

A separate lounge area serves as a networking space. In this place, service training and other events are held. On one side of the lounge is a pantry for having snacks. There is a wallboard and bar table along the corridor for making a small talk or sharing new ideas. If someone leaves a comment on the board, another person can add a new comment. There is a dartboard and ping pong table near the entrance, which are common forms of entertainment in public houses. Users can take time to relax and refresh, and build healthy interpersonal relationships.

Built-in chairs behind the ping pong table create a comfortable meeting space. There is also a “director’s pick” corner where users can pick out books to read. A neon sign in the shape of a ping pong racket adds a witty detail. Overall, the vibrant colors and casual tile finishing create a free work environment. Life is precious and the time spent at work is also a part of life. We want that time to be happy as well. We hope people can achieve true work-life balance in a world where they can work with pleasure and share that happiness at home.