The 9-to-5 mandate is buckling under the weight of fresh data. A University of Pittsburgh analysis of more than 4,400 US forms found that return-to-office orders neither lift revenue nor improve share-price performance, yet they do erode employee satisfaction.
Mandates are almost always under the guise of increasing “innovation and collaboration.” But the research connecting mandated office days with innovation is shaky at best. The sooner leaders realize that collaboration isn’t a buzzword that magically happens when people share a building, the sooner we can progress the conversation on to what really matters.
Colocation alone does not equal collaboration, connection, belonging, or any other buzzword you can think of. It’s a two-part equation when trying to maximize the benefits of “face-to-face” time (of which there are many).
As a strategist, clients often ask me which organizations are setting the benchmark in workplace strategy. The truth is, the answer depends on many factors because there’s no copy-and-paste approach when it comes to strategy.
Developing a workplace strategy requires careful consideration of a wide range of factors. Things like the organization’s overarching business strategy, its culture and values, the geographical spread and distribution of teams, and the diverse ways in which individuals and teams work.
Like many in the design and strategy world, I could hardly go a day in the past five years without seeing a headline declaring “the office is dead,” only to be followed, almost inevitably, by another proclaiming “companies call to return to office”. Unfortunately, it would often come down to the author’s agenda as to how they interpreted the data and painted a picture to suit a particular narrative. The reality is that the office isn’t going anywhere; however, its design, the experiences it offers, the things that are in it, and how often we use it are all evolving rapidly.
The spaces need to be thoughtfully designed to minimize friction and enhance the specific activity they are designed to support; however, I’d argue that this only gets you halfway. While the design is critically important for setting the stage, curating experiences within the space is the secret sauce that transforms colocation into collaboration, connection, and, if you get the ingredients right, perhaps even innovation.
Rather than mandating arbitrary office days, organizations should take a more thoughtful approach by identifying the activities and experiences that they believe benefit the most from a face-to-face environment, and double down on those. The answers will differ from organization to organization; however, taking an evidence-based approach, there are some things we know work better in person, including:
- Building rapport and trust in person is easier and faster than virtually. Research suggests that once rapport and trust are established in person, they are generally easier to sustain virtually than to create virtually from scratch.
- Knowledge sharing. This is a contentious one; however, the research shows that for some forms of knowledge sharing, in-person interactions can accelerate and deepen the knowledge exchange. This is particularly critical for more junior staff, who often learn through osmosis and mentorship.
- Building networks, especially for young people or those new to an organization, can be particularly challenging in a virtual environment. In-person work typically fosters broader, more diverse, and more serendipitous networks.
The anti-office is not a rejection of the office; it is a reinvention of its role within a broader ecosystem of places where work gets done. By grounding design in spatial data and curating experiences that matter more than mere attendance, companies turn real estate into a living, breathing asset — one that earns its keep by helping people do their best work, together or apart.
Editor’s Note: Nick Todd is the Australian Regional Leader for ERA-co’s User Strategy & Experience team. He brings over 20 years of experience as a strategic property leader and he’s held senior leadership positions at some of Australia’s largest and most innovative companies. He has extensive experience across Australia, North America and Asia working across multiple sectors. In his role as regional leader, he and his team partner with a diverse group of clients to help them solve a range of complex real estate and business problems focused on improving the end user experience.