The pandemic has transformed the way we work. For many, following more than a year of working remotely, a hybrid model is now the norm. Employees are becoming more intentional about why and when they visit the office, seeking in-person collaboration, quiet areas for focused work, or even just a change of scenery.
To meet this evolving demand, companies must re-envision the office to foster collaboration, inspiration, and productivity — aspects of work that may have become increasingly difficult during sustained periods of working at home. This is where design comes in: through comfortable, well-appointed spaces that cater to varying workplace needs, where companies can encourage employees to gather, share new ideas, and innovate in ways that support their business.
Designing a Destination
The hybrid workplace model has led to the growing distribution of teams across multiple locations — whether at home, or in workspaces across a city, country, or multiple continents. While we have all become more efficient at leveraging technology to remain connected at work, we are concurrently seeing people crave in-person engagement as restrictions ease. In fact, a recent survey from Generation Lab found that younger professionals expressed a preference for working with their colleagues in-person, citing community, mentoring, and the ability to separate their work from their lives at home.
Through design, workspaces must become a destination with collaborative areas for the moments that matter, from one-on-ones and brainstorming sessions to mid-year reviews — while also continuing to incorporate a strong virtual component for remote teammates. At WeWork, we have seen this take shape as employees from companies like Slack coordinate their office visits for social interaction and relationship-building. Offices will need to still provide quiet spaces as well, since not everyone has the space and resources at home to help them focus. With collaboration hubs for brainstorming sessions and sprint meetings, desk-centric zones can serve as dedicated areas for people looking to concentrate on independent work. These divisions among activity-based workplaces can ultimately enhance productivity for both individuals and teams.
Fostering Culture
Company culture plays a critical role in informing employee behavior, interactions, and satisfaction. Many companies are now taking the opportunity to adopt a more employee-centric culture that drives their new way of working. According to a recent survey from PwC, a third of leaders in human resources said that they are prioritizing the redefinition of their company’s culture to meet the new hybrid world at work.
A hybrid workplace culture driven from the bottom-up and reinforced by leadership can actively empower employees with greater autonomy and bolster morale. Clever and flexible design responsive to employees’ needs and a business’s priorities can actually help strengthen an organization’s overarching culture. For example, we worked with Duolingo, a mobile language learning platform, to customize their New York City WeWork space to reflect a core aspect of their organizational culture: togetherness. By harnessing the flexibility of our spaces and our bespoke design offering, we reconfigured Duolingo’s common area with ease to create an accommodating space for daily team lunches and creativity through collaboration.
Ensuring Safety and Comfort
Following prolonged periods of working from home, it is vital that people feel confident in returning to the office. This means implementing measures like increased sanitization and improved HVAC systems, and ensuring health and safety updates are visible to employees through signage and structural changes. At WeWork, we implemented new technology such as sensors to manage air quality in 700-plus spaces worldwide. We also promoted social distancing with printed reminders on tables and pillows, encouraging healthy habits without compromising the design of our spaces.
Now that employees have the option to work in different ways, employers should work to facilitate a seamless transition from the home to the office. A familiar workplace environment can also help people feel more comfortable as they return. Creating a sense of comfort and community, and promoting both mental and physical wellness, can also be accomplished through infrastructural changes like a mother’s room or prayer room. This means ensuring that employees can come into a space that is welcoming, accessible, and well-maintained.
Soft seating promotes casual, in-person touchpoints that people may have missed about the office, and natural light with warm materials and colors can contribute to a welcoming environment. Outdoor spaces also provide employees with easy access to fresh air and an opportunity to enjoy nice weather while working or taking a break. Workplaces must also factor in WiFi connectivity and power solution accessibility near couches, informal seating arrangements, and in outdoor spaces so people can stay connected while moving from one space to another.
As companies return to the office, there has never been a better time for designing a workspace that meets the needs of tomorrow’s workforce. Employees are seeking opportunities to work in whichever way they can be the most productive. The office can no longer be a sea of desks, nor a “one-size-fits-all” space. Providing intentionally-designed, activity-based spaces is key, with flexibility to ensure that the workplace serves a clear purpose for everyone.
Enabling employees to work in a way that is best for them is critical to success in this new hybrid world. Companies that harness the power of workplace design to encourage collaboration, cater to different working styles, and foster an employee-centric culture will find success in boosting productivity while recruiting and retaining talent in the long run.
Ebbie Wisecarver joined WeWork in 2015 and currently oversees 700-plus buildings worldwide as the company’s global head of design. Previously, she worked as a designer at Diller Scofidio + Renfro New York. She holds a master’s in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.