For years, the conversation around the future of work has swung between two extremes. On one end was the prediction that offices would largely disappear, replaced by remote work and digital collaboration. On the other was the belief that workers would inevitably return to the office much as they had before the pandemic.
The latest data suggests neither outcome is fully correct. Instead, work has settled into something more nuanced — and perhaps more stable — than many expected.
The newest findings from the Global Workplace Survey 2026, conducted by the Gensler Research Institute and released last week, paint a picture of a workplace that has largely stabilized after years of disruption. Workers are back in offices more often than many headlines might suggest, but they are using those spaces in different ways and with different expectations. And looming over all of it is the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence.
The survey, based on responses from more than 16,000 full-time office workers across 16 countries, represents one of the most extensive ongoing studies of workplace behavior. What it reveals is a workplace that is evolving, not in retreat. This workplace is shaped by technology, shifting expectations around wellbeing and a growing emphasis on learning and collaboration.
After several years of turbulence during and after the pandemic, one of the most notable findings in the research is how consistent workplace patterns have become. Globally, workers now spend more than half of their time in the office, with about 26% of their week spent working in places such as coworking spaces, client sites or while traveling. Working from home accounts for roughly 18% of the average workweek — a figure that has gradually declined in recent years.
In other words, the office remains the center of gravity for most workers.
How people spend their time during the workday has also remained relatively consistent. On average, employees spend about 40% of their time working alone, 27% collaborating in person and about 13% working with colleagues virtually. Time devoted to learning and professional development — along with informal social connection — increased during the pandemic and has remained steady since.
This stability suggests the workplace has moved beyond the emergency experimentation of the early pandemic years. The basic rhythms of work are no longer in flux. But stability does not necessarily mean satisfaction.
One of the survey’s more telling insights is how often workers are improvising solutions to problems with their workplace.
Nearly two-thirds of employees report using some form of do-it-yourself workaround to improve their immediate environment. Those fixes range from adjusting ergonomics and lighting to bringing in personal fans, heaters or task lights to make their space more comfortable. Privacy and storage are recurring concerns. So is noise.
Another persistent issue is the shortage of meeting rooms. More than 60% of workers say they have taken calls from open desks, hallways,or staircases because appropriate meeting space was unavailable. In some cases, meetings are cancelled entirely because a suitable room cannot be found.
Assigned seating remains the dominant arrangement — about 83% of workers still have a designated desk. Yet nearly one in five employees now work in unassigned seating environments, and many of them would prefer a permanent workspace.
The underlying message is straightforward: While companies have adjusted workplace policies, many physical environments have not fully caught up with how people actually work. If the current workplace has stabilized, the aspirations for the next one are becoming clearer.
Workers increasingly want offices that support both productivity and personal wellbeing. Nearly half of survey respondents say they hope their future workplace will prioritize physical and mental wellness. Access to nature, outdoor areas and quiet spaces for focused work rank high on employees’ wish lists. At the same time, employees want environments that feel productive, professional and creative. They expect spaces that support collaboration and innovation while also allowing for individual focus.
In practice, that means workplaces must accommodate a wide spectrum of activities. Workers move throughout the day between deep concentration, collaboration, learning and social interaction. Increasingly, they expect the physical workplace to support all of those modes. It is a delicate balance between a workplace that is calm yet energizing, technologically advanced yet occasionally analog, collaborative yet capable of supporting quiet focus.
If there is a single force likely to reshape workplaces over the next decade, it is artificial intelligence. The survey identifies a group of respondents described as “AI power users” — employees who regularly use AI tools both professionally and in their personal lives. These workers now represent about 30% of the global workforce surveyed. They provide an early glimpse of how AI may influence workplace behavior.
Contrary to some expectations, these employees are not isolating themselves behind screens. In fact, the data suggests the opposite. AI power users spend less time working alone and more time learning, collaborating virtually and socializing with colleagues. Freed from some routine tasks by automation, they appear to redirect their time toward activities that involve creativity, problem-solving and human interaction.
They also report stronger relationships with their teams. Higher levels of trust, collaboration and reliability are common among these workers, along with greater openness to sharing ideas and learning from colleagues. For workplace designers and organizations alike, this is an important signal. The rise of AI may actually increase the importance of physical workplaces as places where relationships, learning and experimentation occur.
Another pattern emerging from the research is the growing importance of learning in the workplace. 70% of AI power users say learning and professional development are critical to their job performance, compared with less than half of workers who rarely use AI.
Employees who prioritize learning behave differently inside the office. They are more likely to experiment with new ways of working, stay aware of what other teams are doing, and exchange ideas with colleagues. Certain design elements appear to support that behavior. Spaces that workers associate with effective learning environments include workplaces with appealing design, manageable noise levels, flexible meeting room furniture, access to advanced technology and areas where employees can relax and recharge.
In other words, the learning workplace is about creating an environment where curiosity and knowledge-sharing become part of daily work, not simply building out training rooms.
Taken together, the survey’s findings suggest the physical workplace is entering a new phase. Rather than fading into irrelevance, the office is being redefined as a place that enables the kinds of interactions that technology cannot replicate.
As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in daily work, organizations may find that human skills — judgment, creativity, collaboration — become even more valuable. The workplace, in turn, becomes the setting where those skills are cultivated. The challenge for companies will be designing environments that support both technological advancement and human connection.