In practice, however, teams tend to flock together in the same part of the building, usually close to where their lockers are. But we havent formalized that in the floor plan. Adapting to the ABW concept went fairly smoothly as many employees had already experienced activity-based working in their previous office building. Even so, Kari notes: The implementation process required a lot of talking. We have many lawyers working in the ministry I am onemyself and we like peace and quiet. So there were Just outside the formal meeting rooms there is concerns about that. The good thing was that there weresoft seating where employees can have their lots of opportunities to discuss those concerns. Part ofpre- and post-meeting chats. (photo: Jaakko this dialogue was conducted by special move mentors Lukumaa) from the ministry's HR unit who were attached to each department. These mentors helped to prepare the departments for the move, and they talked with employees about how the concept would work in practice.What surprised Kari was that peoples concerns related to practicalities rather than the overall concept. We spent a lot of time talking about mundane things such as the number of toilets, the quality of the coffee machines and the possibilities for storing winter clothing. Smiling, he adds, Sometimes, I really had to remind people that theThe buildings finest historical rooms have bigger goal was collaboration and that we needed to talkbeen transformed into meeting rooms that are about that as well. available to all. (photo: Jaakko Lukumaa)The other ministries of the Finnish state are likely to take a keen interest in the project, as they will also have to adopt the concept at some point. The responsibility for this lies with Senate Properties, the governments real estate organization, and their internal client, the Prime Ministers office. Pertti Siekkinen from Senate Properties says: The trigger for activity-based working comes from the Ministry of Finances 2015 decision to reduce the governments real estate expenses by around 20%. He stresses, however, that the concept is not just about costs, but also about modernizing government. Heikki Hovi, Ministerial AdviserInformal seating and moveable whiteboards and Head of Unit at the Prime Ministers office, has the samein the work areas are intended to facilitate message. It is about improving collaboration betweencollaboration. (photo: Jaakko Lukumaa)different parts of government, about the digitalization of work processes, and about creating attractive workplaces for todays and tomorrows civil servants. Q&AVivi Markkanen, Assistant at the Ministrys Human Resources and Administration Unit.What do you like best about this new way of working? How often do you change places in the office?It is easy, practical, and modern. I have all I need. About twice a week, I try to stay near my colleagues.What aspect could be improved? What is your favourite workspace within the office?I wouldnt change anything because personally I am. It is a very beautiful place with satisfied.