How workplace designers are getting people back in the office

How people use the office has changed, and with it the ways that companies have long tracked productivity and built their corporate culture.

This has put leaders under pressure to create experiences for employees that complement, and in some ways even compete with, the comforts of home. As a new balance emerges, office design is witnessing one of the biggest rethinks in decades.

We spoke to Rémi Calvayrac, Head of Work Dynamics France and Head of PDS France, BeNeLux & Nordics at JLL, and Adrian Davidson, EMEA Head of Design at Tétris, to find out how the “hybrid enablement challenge” is affecting the workplace.

Some firms were early adopters of flexible activity-based models, but COVID-19 fundamentally changed the way people work. Collaborating with both in-person and remote colleagues throughout the day is one of the biggest challenges. To support these seamless transitions to different types of work, we’re creating more dynamic spaces and using technology to support hybrid video meetings.

Levels of comfort and acoustics have also increased in importance. We’re all more sensitive to noise after working at home – so we’re introducing more soundproof booths or pods for calls or focused work.

Rémi Calvayrac: There are so many ways workplaces are changing, although it’s interesting to note that the menu of spaces catering for different types of activities hasn’t changed, but the ratios have.

JLL’s global Occupancy Benchmarking Report found 80% of organizations plan to expand collaboration space. We’re certainly seeing the proportion of fixed desks to collaboration space reversing.

Adrian Davidson: It’s not just the design of the space itself, but the level of service that’s changing to make the commute worthwhile. It's no use demanding people back and then they're sat in isolation pods or with headphones in – companies need a much stronger social strategy.

Facilities managers are adopting an events mentality, rather than just servicing square meters. Companies are finding ways to integrate rituals into the pattern of work. People need to feel they belong, so the physical space becomes important as a place to build bonds, trust, relationships and friendships.

It’s why companies are now asking for more hospitality features – such as bars or baristas with coffee roasting facilities instead of traditional reception areas.

Rémi Calvayrac: The difficulty is there’s no one-size-fits-all across sectors, firms or even regions. Office attendance fluctuates across the week, so rightsizing to ensure people have access to desks and other spaces is hard.

Booking systems have come into play, but spontaneity and impromptu encounters are what differentiate the office from home. Nobody wants to spend their whole day on an app trying to book multiple seats!

Taking a participative approach to understand the needs of your employees and the strategic business objectives is key in setting initial principles. Each situation must be curated to suit – and then constantly monitored, as capacity and utilization evolves over time. That’s where technology really helps.

The role of managers is also changing significantly to bring teams and generations together with purpose and intention, to collaborate, innovate and learn from one another. They’re still on a journey to understand how best to blend physical and remote teams.