Let’s start by thinking about the occupiers—for example, the companies that own or lease space for their employees. They will need to reorient their real estate strategies for competitive advantage and try to identify the moments that matter for coming together in person again. Because after COVID-19 began, flexible became a key part of how we work—and that way of working is here to stay.
At the same time, the human touch and physical presence are still needed, but they have a very different purpose now versus in the past. For instance, if employers want to strengthen employee connections, improve social capital, onboard new hires, or evaluate potential acquisitions, maybe for these types of activities, it still helps to be together in the same place.
But these places won’t be the same old offices as we thought of them before. They might include “third places,” such as coworking locations or on-demand meeting and event spaces, both of which could be combined with personalized services.
Now let’s think about the future of the workplace from the owner and/or operator perspective, where there are different considerations. Not only will there be a reduction in demand for traditional offices, but much of today’s office space won’t meet the flexibility and experience needs of future occupants and workers. As a result, there could be both an oversupply of space and a scarcity of offices purpose-built for flexible work.
Can you imagine, for instance, a big, open space with hundreds of people, and most of these people are on videoconferences with colleagues who are somewhere else? I mean, that would not be sustainable. Offices need a completely different layout, in line with the needs of the flexible and remote world. You’ll need individual offices, though maybe not just for one person. Instead, these would be bookable for when you are in the office. You need centers of gravity, where colleagues can connect effortlessly. You need integrated employee experience applications that make it easy to coordinate with both on-site and off-site peers and reserve gathering spaces, hospitality services, and technology support as required. Community managers should be available to engage and support employees across the physical office and virtual workplace.
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