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.

Rémi Calvayrac: The way we’re approaching projects is what’s changed the most. Previously we worked with specialized teams from one area of the client’s business. But now, managing the processes of stakeholder governance and decision making is more complex. We’re having to bring the whole organization to the table, and do extensive research, to deliver what’s required from a hybrid workplace perspective.

It's all because the office has become a strategic asset. What I mean is that organizations have realized the workplace is not just a fixed overhead and somewhere to put desks.

Adrian Davidson: I agree. Traditionally, departments such as IT, HR, and real estate were quite siloed. But companies have realized it needs to be like an orchestra – we’re playing different instruments, but we’ve all got to be playing the same tune to get the workplace functioning efficiently. Our role is to be the conductor, pulling everything together for the client.

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.