2023 Trends: the Human-Centric Hybrid Office

Let’s welcome the new year by answering a key question I've heard a lot recently: what should the office look like in 2023?

In the first-ever edition of this weekly publication, I quoted architect Martin Henn who shared with Bloomberg News why expectations for the office have changed :

• We've moved from manufacturing to knowledge-based industries, making physical brick-and-mortar workplaces less relevant. Modern employees can think, write, and even collaborate from anywhere.
• During COVID-19, employees were allowed to explore "working from home." They found great productivity from the comfort of their living rooms.?
• The lockdowns gave people time to reflect and rethink the purpose and meaning of their work.?

This led to much experimentation last year when we just came out of the lockdowns. With that experience in our pocket, what's the right way to do an office in 2023?

First and Foremost, People. Always.

A great article by Haley Nelson ,? Amin Mojtahedi, PhD ,?and? Daniel Michaud on Work Design Magazine based on 2+ years of data about office usage nailed it: more than ever, it's time for "A People-First Approach to the Workplace ."

As the authors share, "the pandemic has reignited employees’ desires for something more when it comes to their workspaces—many are now voicing their preferences for maintaining flexibility and authorship of their workdays, choosing how and when they come into the office, and deciding for how long.

More than ever, work happens across a spectrum of spaces, and companies are looking at how these hybrid behaviors can lead to new ways of working. These factors naturally lead to a shift in workplace design thinking that should continue to evolve throughout 2023."

With hybrid work quickly becoming the new normal in markets like Singapore and further picking up in other countries across the region, it's important that the office reflects that work is and will continue to be happening across a spectrum of spaces.

As the authors share, physical and virtual office spaces should be designed around the person doing the work, not the work itself.?This people-first mindset will lead to a people-first, digitally-led work experience.?

Start with the human.

To create people-centric offices, we need to start the design process with people before we even think about floorplans, materials, and colors. A few questions to consider:

• In your specific company, what kind of work do people do? Now, but also in the future – offices aren't typically short-term solutions.
• What kind of spaces and amenities would enable them to do it? For individuals and groups?
• How do you embrace the company and personal values in the way you design your workplace? How can it strengthen your company culture?
• Think especially about key imperatives like DEI and well-being; how can they come to life in how you put together your new office?
• What would make the office so compelling that it's worth commuting to for your employees? (One of the key questions on people's minds right now)

I highly encourage involving key team leaders and 'social ambassadors' in answering these questions. Involving a diverse cross-section of team members will help you to create a place where your team members will be excited to come to work. Creating a compelling and supportive environment will increase your chances of attracting top talent and building a thriving and successful company.

Keep in mind the specific circumstances of your company. As Level founder Joe Averill shared on Caleb Parker 's brilliant #WorkBold podcast, a seed-stage company will have very different requirements than an established MNC. Flexibility is incredibly important, especially for fast-growing (tech) companies. Can the solution work now and five years from today?

The many benefits of people-centric offices

People-centric offices that prioritize flexibility, enjoyment, and collaboration and, as Henn calls, "Swiss Army Knives that cater to the employees' various specific needs"?deliver several benefits:

• Improved employee satisfaction: By prioritizing the comfort and well-being of employees, people-centric offices can lead to increased job satisfaction and retention rates.
• Enhanced productivity: When employees have a work environment that they enjoy and support their needs, they will be more motivated and productive. (More on this next week!)?
• Improved collaboration: People-centric offices often prioritize collaboration and communication, fostering a sense of community and encouraging teamwork.
• Increased creativity: A comfortable and supportive work environment can make employees feel more creative and free to think outside the box.
• Better company culture : A people-centric office can contribute to a positive company culture, which will help attract and retain top talent.

To expand on that last point, a human-centric office can help influence company culture from the bottom up by gradually changing employees' behaviors. The space can provide cues to employees to put them in the same mindset, which will teach them new behaviors that benefit the company.

The critical role of technology

To modernize offices, technology plays a big role.

This doesn't mean we should be surrounded by tech that may make us more stressed. It means we should create a more intentional workplace and find the proper role for technology within that.

As Elizabeth Brink and her team wrote in Gensler建筑设计事务所 's piece "Why It’s Time to Demand More From Our Workplace Experience," through thoughtful digital/physical integration, automation, and more, we can create a truly connected workspace that makes work more seamless." I previously mentioned The Edge ?in my hometown Amsterdam that, integrates technology into its fabric to create seamless, personalized experiences.

One way to do this, even on a much smaller scale than The Edge, is through “virtual first empathy ,” where offices prioritize hybrid collaboration and communication technologies integrated into the physical office space so that both in-person and virtual employees can operate and participate equally .?

The virtual office is then treated as an extension of the physical office, providing all employees with “AV Equity ,” which ensures that “all employees participate equitably, being able to see and be seen, hear and be heard.” AV Equity fosters the alignment of properly designed spaces, furniture, technology systems, and meeting etiquettes to instill a sense of belonging in all participants.

Especially on a budget, this isn't easy. I can attest to this. But we must try.

Beyond AV Equity, the office may display a digital dashboard to see where others work to make collaboration easier.

We can also deploy an app like Lexi to connect colleagues and promote a sense of community, even if we're not in the same office daily. This strengthens already important employee experience and employee engagement initiatives.

It also helps avoid the 'ghost office syndrome.' Since employees want to be in socially energized spaces , office scheduling tools ensure they don't return to vacant spaces without their teammates and communities, making the office not “commute-worthy.”?We’ve all heard employees complain about a long commute only to spend their day on video calls that they could have easily taken from home.

Yes, but we're on a budget!

Apart from just productivity, one big area of consideration companies will have to prepare for the 2023 budget and cut costs. This is only good news, as offices are the highest costs after people.

Companies can cut their budgets by adopting a hybrid work model, which allows employees to work from home regularly. This can reduce the need for office space, which saves a significant amount of money on rent, utilities, office supplies, and operating costs.

By letting people work from home more and creating people-centric offices for the days people do show up, companies can reduce their office space and overhead costs by up to 50%.

Simple hybrid office management tools allow you to take the same desk and have two or more people share it.

Similarly, meeting rooms and collaboration spaces can then be made bookable and allow you to further optimize office space usage, which historically has always been a challenge. (Even before the pandemic, most office space was completely unused.)

And while a lot of the references and imagery here is from big, impressive office projects, that doesn't mean that the principles of employee-centric design can't be applied on smaller scale and with a lower budget. As Dan Pilling said on #WorkBold :

Doing the most with the least amount of space while maintaining peak productivity is possible, thanks to the shift in the mindset of employees and advances in technology.

Then, the office creates value. As in the words of Phil Kirschner at 麦肯锡 , "the office needs a clear purpose. ?"

Social, Meet, Focus, and Balance: key spaces you need.

Because office spaces are increasingly becoming a place for workers to reconnect with colleagues, rebuild social capital, foster learning, and excel in innovation, companies are opting for shared workspaces to accommodate such needs.

We have put together a comprehensive guide to the different categories of spaces indispensable in modern offices: Social, Meet, Focus, and Balance.?

SOCIAL: This is where employees can COLLIDE and GATHER. In my previous posts, I talked about the Hybrid Paradox , which causes employees to feel “a great mental burden” from the lack of face-to-face interactions with their colleagues. It is no surprise that spaces cultivating social interactions top the priority list when designing new offices. Social spaces include:

1. Main community spaces
2. Lounges with or without touchdown spaces
3. Pantries and kitchens (because food is life!)
4. Coffee shops
5. Gardens and outdoor spaces
6. Play areas

MEET: Here, employees can COLLABORATE, CONNECT, and LEARN. While online collaboration is possible, it has been proven that collaboration is best carried out in the office. The main reason is that effective collaboration requires trust as its main component, which is built more easily face-to-face.??

FOCUS: A place to CONCENTRATE and get their work done. As much as we advocate for collaboration, employees still need time and space to do their own focused work before and after such sessions. Having a place for this means a day in the office isn’t wasted.

BALANCE: Where employees can BALANCE their work and personal life. In an ever-connected work-life, balance is increasingly important. While working from home and flexible schedules can help, the office definitely can’t stay behind if companies want to retain their best talents. This could include:

1. Sleep or nap spaces
2. Green spaces?
3. Dedicated well-being and mindfulness spaces

You can read in-depth descriptions and practical examples in our whitepaper The Post-COVID Office: 4 Types of Spaces You Need .

Keep in mind that for any changes to the office to be successful, they should be holistic, allow for evolution, and focus on the unique working preferences of employees, including their preferred workspaces.

Constant testing and retesting of what works best are critical as employees begin to interact with and experience physical and virtual work environments, leading to long-term sustainability modifications.

Let's build and update our office to be more people-centric in 2023!

No matter which spaces you build and whether you do that in your own traditional office or in a flexible office space, the keyword here is intention.

Put your people first, understand their needs, and build the right solutions around this.

With the many benefits people-centric offices provide, not in the last place higher productivity at a lower monthly cost, there should be plenty of motivation for you to at least pick up of part of this.

I hope the above is helpful, and I’m happy to share further insights. Just inbox or email.

Happy people-centric new year!

Daan