Unity Place shows how a day in the office can be worth the commute

Hybrid working may have changed how often people travel into the office, but businesses in Milton Keynes are becoming more intentional about what they want from face-to-face time. At Unity Place, the trend is being seen across coworking, informal workspaces, meeting rooms and event spaces, with people increasingly using in-person days for collaboration, team catch-ups, client meetings, networking and shared experiences rather than simply sitting at a desk. At x+why Unity Place (main image), there have been 868 meeting room bookings so far this year, with around 5,800 visitors year to date. The coworking provider has also seen regular repeat bookings from businesses that do not need a permanent office, but still want a flexible place to bring their teams together.

Polly from x+why at Unity Place said: “With hybrid working, we’re seeing businesses become much more intentional about face-to-face time. If people are travelling in, the day needs to feel worthwhile and have a purpose beyond simply sitting at a desk.”

x+why has also seen demand for flexible working grow in unexpected ways. During the summer heatwave, more people used the space as an air-conditioned alternative to working from home, with some short-term users later becoming ongoing flex members. Its spaces are used for everything from collaborative meetings and team days to workshops, training, networking, panel discussions, photography, filming and events for more than 100 people.

The same shift is being reflected in Unity Place’s wider conference and events activity. Over the last year, the venue hosted 728 meetings and events alongside 319 Santander meetings – more than 1,000 in total.

The Conference & Events team is also seeing strong demand for team-building activity, alongside fewer overnight, two-day and evening events. The team believes businesses are increasingly trying to make face-to-face time purposeful while respecting employees’ personal time and work-life balance.

That is also leading to more creative uses of event space, including one recent team-building event that featured an inflatable football pitch and inflatable footballs.

Feedback from event organisers also points to the importance of flexibility and repeat use. One customer, who regularly uses Unity Place for work conferences, said every event they had held at the venue had run smoothly and praised the space, equipment, food and support from the team.

Meanwhile, the Santander Work Café at Unity Place (above) welcomes between 1,500 and 2,500 visitors each month. Its busiest period is typically Tuesday to Thursday between 10am and 3pm, with people using the space for independent working, informal meetings, networking, everyday banking and events.

The Work Café team has also noticed a stronger sense of community developing, with regular visitors increasingly striking up conversations, sharing experiences from events and making introductions between people who may benefit from connecting.

One recent example saw a visitor introduced to a networking event at the Work Café, attend that evening and later begin planning her own event focused on social media and brand growth.

A Unity Place spokesperson said: “The purpose of coming together has changed. Businesses still value face-to-face time, but increasingly they want those days to deliver something meaningful – whether that is collaboration, connection, team building or meeting clients. What we are seeing across Unity Place is that people want flexibility: they may not need a permanent office five days a week, but they still want high-quality spaces where they can come together when it matters.”

Located directly opposite Milton Keynes Central station, Unity Place brings together coworking, meeting rooms, event spaces, food, drink and social spaces under one roof, giving businesses and workers the option to work, meet and spend time together in one location.

For more information about coworking, meetings and events at Unity Place, visit unityplace.co.uk.