Community has long been central to human connection, yet many traditional anchors — faith organizations, clubs and unions — have steadily declined. For example, in 2020, for the first time in history, fewer than 50% of Americans reported belonging to a religious institution, down from 70% in 1999 (Gallup). Meanwhile, only 16% of Americans feel strongly connected to their local community (Pew Research).
So where do people find connection today? At work. The workplace is now among the few remaining institutions where adults interact consistently. With employees spending most of their waking hours at work, companies have a unique opportunity to serve as modern communities. Rather than viewing loneliness as an individual issue, workplaces should be recognized as part of our social infrastructure — just like parks, libraries and public spaces.
Offices should be designed as communities, not just places to work. While companies debate between return-to-office mandates and hybrid work policies, they’re missing a critical truth: Neither in-person nor remote work automatically solves loneliness. The real opportunity lies in rethinking workplace design and culture to foster human connection.
Despite good intentions, many workplace strategies unintentionally fuel isolation rather than fostering connection. To design offices as true communities, we must move away from three outdated concepts that no longer serve employees in today’s world: efficiency over community, lack of intentional social design and failure to experiment.
Unlocking Community
For decades, office design has prioritized efficiency over human connection, treating the workplace as a machine for productivity rather than a space for people. This mindset dates back to Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific factory management, which influenced early office layouts focused on maximum supervision. In the 1960s, Robert Propst introduced Action Office, intended to empower employees, but corporations misused the concept, transforming it into the cubicle farm — a dense, isolating environment that prioritized cost savings over well-being.
The next attempt at collaboration, the open-plan office, promised interaction and teamwork, but backfired dramatically. A 2018 Harvard study found that shifting from cubicles to open layouts led to a 70% drop in face-to-face interactions and a 50% increase in emails and messaging. Now, we find ourselves in the era of hot-desking, where assigned seating is replaced with flexible workstations. While this maximizes real estate, it removes employees’ personal space and sense of belonging.
The solution? Designing a workplace that aligns with how people naturally behave. A well-designed community garden doesn’t consist of identical plants in neat rows — that’s a monoculture, not an ecosystem. The same applies to workplaces. Instead of rigid, one-size-fits-all environments, workplaces should be designed to support how people naturally interact, not just for how efficiently they can be managed. Companies must think of work as a verb, not a noun. Traditional offices treat work as something static, done from either a desk or a meeting room. But work is fluid. It requires focus, movement, collaboration, casual interaction and rest, all in different settings.
Unlike conventional offices that offer only workstations and enclosed conference rooms, activity-based workplaces provide a variety of environments tailored to different tasks. This can include quiet zones for deep focus and individual work, casual lounges and booths for spontaneous discussions, team spaces for brainstorming and group problem-solving and standing desks or outdoor areas to break free from the monotony of sitting. This approach liberates work from a single desk, allowing employees to move seamlessly between settings that match their tasks and energy levels.
The human brain is wired to recognize patterns, but excessive symmetry can feel monotonous, diminishing engagement and creativity. Instead of rigid furniture rows or mirrored floorplans, offices should be designed like neighborhoods, with asymmetrical layouts that create a path of discovery. Thoughtful variation in spatial design keeps the environment stimulating, guides occupants through a narrative and establishes a sense of hierarchy and flow.
Make Interaction Innate
Most offices today are built for work, not for interaction. Designed to maximize productivity per square foot, spaces like reception areas and cafés function as utilities rather than true social hubs. The ritual of coming into the office is entirely work-focused — a cycle of meetings, emails and screens, leaving little room for organic human connection. It wasn’t always this way. Watercooler chats once provided natural breaks for conversation — moments of social slack where relationships formed effortlessly. But those days are gone. We don’t just bring our desktops to meetings anymore — we carry our inboxes in our pockets, checking emails even on the way to get water or step into the restroom. Surrounded by spaces that prioritize efficiency, employees are left with nowhere to simply exist and connect.
One solution lies in creating spaces for social connection, rethinking the workplace as a place where people are encouraged to engage with one another. One of the most universal human behaviors is gathering around food. Across every culture and throughout history, meals have been central to festivals, traditions and social bonding. A Harvard study found that sharing food strengthens relationships, increases trust and fosters deeper connections (NIH). In the workplace, free communal lunches are one of the simplest and most effective ways to create engagement, yet many companies overlook their value.
Other designs that prioritize social interaction include fostering serendipity, rituals and entry experiences. By placing high-traffic amenities, like coffee bars and lounges, along natural office pathways, designers can create organic gathering points. A strategically placed café should feel like a destination, not just a convenience. Offices also need social traditions beyond meetings, whether that’s a weekly team breakfast, casual check-ins before meetings, or end-of-day gatherings at a communal area. The moment employees walk into the office, they should feel a sense of welcome and connection. A communal lounge near the entrance rather than a sterile reception desk signals that the workplace is a space designed for people, not just productivity.
Embrace Change and Iterate
Unlike productivity, social connection isn’t easily measured, making it challenging to prove its impact on retention and engagement. As a result, most offices remain static. The workplace is changing faster than ever, yet too many organizations hesitate to experiment with new ideas. Unlike the tech industry, where beta versions are launched, tested and refined, workplace design is often treated as a one-and-done project; a static investment rather than an evolving process. Other industries embrace this. TV shows test pilot episodes, healthcare systems use evidence-based design. So why shouldn’t workplaces do the same?
The solution lies in experimentation. Companies need to adopt a beta mindset, designing pilot spaces where real behaviors, preferences and interactions can be observed before scaling solutions. This can be done by creating incubator spaces, gathering real-world data and iterating and refining workplaces. Companies can collaborate with designers, architects and employees to test different layouts, amenities and workplace policies in a controlled setting before making large-scale investments. They can use observations, surveys and workplace analytics to track how people engage with different spaces. Companies must treat workplace design as an ongoing process, adjusting layouts, furniture and policies based on measured success, not assumptions.
The hospitality industry understands this deeply. Spaces are constantly fine-tuned based on guest experience. In workplace design, the same principle applies. Instead of aiming for a “perfect” office upfront, the best workplaces will be those that evolve, improve and adapt over time.
Workplaces have the potential to replace lost social structures and become the modern town square — a place where people feel connected, supported and part of something bigger. But achieving this requires rethinking office design as an investment in people, not just an operational cost. The most successful workplaces won’t just be where people work; they’ll be why people choose to stay.
Editor’s Note: Shreya Somani is a senior designer at Arcadis.