The Flexible Workplace is Here to Stay

Following the pandemic, ‘work-from-home’ has become just normal. You need to look no further than cities’ empty business districts. And hardly a month goes by without a report claiming that employees are not only happier at home, but also more productive and healthier, as well as saving time and money on the commute.

Unfortunately, though, much of the discussion focuses on how many days we are required to be in the office, instead of the long-term effects this WFH revolution will have on our work places – whether the home, the office, or virtual worlds, and other places.

Quiet workplaces for focus work

The truth is that people need comfortable places that enable them to work well. Part of this work (between a third and a halfi) is done alone, while the rest is performed with others (in-person or through virtual environments). The “alone” work requires a quiet space where people can focus, while the “together” work requires collaboration spaces in an employer’s office, online environment, or another place (e.g. co-working space).

Office designer Gensler¹ has been researching the effectiveness of office environments in the US for several years. Its data (see graph) shows that offices are good for socializing, learning, and working with others in person. Indeed, collaboration is one of the reasons that people are returning to the office.

Offices are good for working together, but not for working alone

Rating of effectiveness of the office environment to support each work mode on a 5-point scale

Source: Gensler, 2022.

Yet the formal office’s score for working alone or working virtually with others is at an all-time low. Even before the pandemic, most offices were not designed in a way conducive to working alone. It seems the home is filling that gap; an often-quoted benefit of working at home is quiet, in addition to a more flexible working day and no commute.

Still, for some people WFH simply doesn’t work: for instance because their houses lack a quiet and comfortable home office. In addition, less-disciplined people might find it challenging and prefer the structure of a formal office.

Collaborative workplaces for interaction

People still want to go to the office a few days a week (see graph). An often-cited motivation is to interact with others, which can be very valuable. Research at Microsoft² suggests that the companywide shift to remote work has hurt communication and collaboration among different business groups. Because communication became more siloed, knowledge transfer was impeded, threatening employee productivity and long-term innovation.

People have different preferences on the number of days working from home

How often would you like to have paid workdays at home post-Covid (among those who can work from home)?

Source: Survey of working arrangements and attitudes, WFH Research 2022.³

Designing smart workplaces

The findings above tell us that people will continue to work from both home and the office. Their time will be split between focused and collaborative work. Part of that collaborative work will be done in virtual spaces; part will be done in physical (office) spaces. An effective workplace will have to support all these types of spaces: home, office and virtual.

At this moment, many office buildings are being optimized for creative group work, but they will also need facilities for focus work and collaborative virtual work. Such areas could include semi-enclosed areas for quieter work and private-focus rooms with videoconferencing hardware⁴.

In addition, Gensler found in its research that office workers are also seeking a new mix of experiences, such as informal spaces for connection and community, library-like spaces for quiet work, creative labs, or more hospitality-infused amenity-rich spaces.

These design requirements are impacting what’s required in terms of office space. Whereas many corporates initially believed that WFH would save on office space, they might want to reconsider that conclusion.

Home offices, meanwhile, are being optimized for focus and virtual collaborative work. That might include “remote worker” internet packages with advanced cybersecurity measures, hardware-as-a-service offerings to outfit home offices with prosumer-level videoconferencing (or metaverse) solutions, and communication and collaboration platforms that help to optimize workflows between team members.

Beyond from the home and the office, other workspaces are emerging. Virtual ones in the metaverse or co-working spaces located somewhere between home and the office look increasingly likely. And digital nomads might choose to work from an Asian beach hut or a flat in a beautiful European city such as Lisbon⁵. In the future we will work simply where we are most productive and happiest – and that future is arriving fast.