Keen to create the workplace culture they feel has been missing with remote work, 91% of employers say in-person collaboration is their main return-to-office goal. “It gives people a sense of belonging to a larger community and purpose,” says Pradere.

Meanwhile, with AI changing the very nature of work, Hendry agrees the office will become more important than ever. “The human-centric side of work needs to step up and workplaces will play a vital role in helping us connect, convene, innovate and learn,” she says.

Yet the widespread adoption of video conferencing tools means virtual collaboration still accounts for almost a quarter of all time spent in offices, with at least half of these calls taking place at the workstation, potentially disturbing nearby colleagues.

Employees often just need to get their head down and get work done, and it seems managers are suffering the most.

“We found that Generation X (those aged 35-44) are more frustrated than Boomers or Gen Y & Z, with poor office acoustics and lack of privacy,” says Pradere. “They desperately need ‘me’ rather than ‘we’ spaces, to focus on the workload that comes with their managerial responsibilities.”

With managers stuck in the middle trying to keep the C-suite and their teams happy, Hendry says this cohort is also experiencing the most burnout. “Designing offices with a diversity of spaces suitable for different types of work is extraordinarily important in empowering individuals to be productive throughout their day,” she says.

This can include pods, phone booths and other enclosures, as well as using innovative sound-insulating furnishings and surface sprays, plus technical acoustic solutions such as ceiling baffles and wall cladding, to absorb noise.

JLL and EMOTIV’s science of work study discovered that while noise can be distracting, deathly quiet is also less than ideal. Soundscapes and white-noise generators may be common in offices of the future and some firms are already experimenting with these as they seek to create the perfect working environment.