The Hybrid Workplace of the Future: Highlights from Gensler’s 2020 Workplace Surveys
(Rebroadcast: Bill Sheridan’s Future-Proof episode: The post-pandemic office and the future of work | with Cheryl Duvall)
When the pandemic began, we didn’t know how long it would last or what the impact would be. Few could have predicted much of the population would be spending most of our time at home nearly a year after going into quarantine. Since the spring of 2020, the Gensler Research Institute has been conducting surveys of workers across the globe to understand worker’s needs and make informative real estate and design decisions on the future of the workplace. In these surveys, many workers expressed evolving expectations for the future of work and the physical workplace. As we look to the future, our data helps us explore how employers and their workplaces can best support their employees in a post-pandemic future.
In today’s episode, we’re re-broadcasting our Regional Consulting Practice Area Leader Cheryl Duvall’s interview on the Business Learning Institute’s Future-Proof podcast with host Bill Sheridan, of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA), where Bill and Cheryl discuss key findings from Gensler’s 2020 Workplace Surveys. Years ago, Cheryl worked with MACPA to design their offices in Baltimore using the concept of activity-based working, which provides flexibility within a hybrid work context, allowing all spaces to be shared by employees — while promoting a sense of equity in the workplace. This innovative workplace design was ahead of the curve, because now looking forward, Cheryl predicts that post-pandemic office design will need to support collaboration and choice-based activity.
“The post-pandemic office in my mind is a lot of happy workers, because they have more choices in where to work and when to work in those locations.” — Cheryl Duvall
Since the pandemic began, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in how and where people are working. In the summer of 2020, through our Global Workplace Surveys, we surveyed nearly 10,000 office workers from the U.S., the U.K., France, and Australia (Australia report is forthcoming) to ask workers about their views on a post-pandemic future. Across these four countries, workers’ behaviors are starting to shift as they realize the benefits of remote work. Our findings uncovered some differences, but also some universal truths: most office workers want a hybrid model, and the office is still the best place to connect, collaborate, and socialize.
The most successful workplace strategies embolden employees with the ability to choose what works best for them. From our surveys, we know that workers choose the office to be productive; they choose home for the convenience and safety. A hybrid model helps to balance both. Most workers are in their current work scenario because of a company or governmental policy. But for those with the ability to choose where to work, respondents who are currently opting to return to the office are doing so because it’s where they are most productive. Those working mostly or full-time at home do so out of concern for COVID-19 and other convenience factors, suggesting work/life benefits associated with home-based working.
The benefits of the hybrid work model, or those balancing days at the office with working from home, are already emerging. Respondents in a hybrid work model reported feeling more personally creative, more satisfied with their job, and more empowered to experiment with new means of collaborating and working. Despite regional differences across the global surveys, in every country we studied, over half of workers would prefer a hybrid work model. This new hybrid work model will dominate the workforce moving forward.
That doesn’t mean that there is a one-size-fits-all strategy for all companies: many workers depend on specific resources at their office. But the nature of work is changing — we’re becoming more versatile, agile, and collaborative. We need a wider array of solutions — both inside and outside the office — to support all workers. Striking the right balance of space will be key for future workplace strategy.
When employees are coming to the office only a handful of days a week, there is a real opportunity to rethink the spatial organization of the workplace of the future, challenging the status quo of the corner office, for instance. Instead of private offices reserved for managers and open desks designated for other employees, a hybrid workplace could empower each employee to choose their ideal work setting for the day, depending on the activities at hand. Flexible work environments could include a quiet space for focused work, an office for confidential discussions, or moveable walls that allow teams to collaborate.
“I think this is an incredibly exciting time to really reimagine the workplace, because I think that there are so many different possibilities and they start with the question ‘what is it that you want your workplace to do?’” — Cheryl Duvall
All over the world, employees are similar in two ways: They want to feel the energy from their colleagues, and they want to feel their impact on the organization. We learn by overhearing what our peers have to say and experiencing the consequences of their behavior — positive, negative, and everything in between — in real time, in person. The hybrid workplace will likely mean interacting with fewer coworkers on a given day and fewer potential watercooler moments for casual conversations. As Cheryl puts it, inadvertent knowledge transfer is one of the biggest victims of ‘work from home’. Make no mistake: Privacy is a key ingredient in the recipe for an emotionally fulfilling workplace, and we must make it available on-demand for confidential and sensitive subjects, and for days when we need time to ourselves. So, in order to continue fostering a connected company culture, it will be important to intentionally design the new workplace for curated collisions among workers and seamless mentoring.
“We should be trusted to be able to help design our work lives to better reflect our true selves.” — Cheryl Duvall
Coronavirus will not kill the office. If anything, it figures to be more dynamic than ever. The ability to work remotely will not drive most people away from cities and offices, but it will enable many to live and work in new ways and places — while causing its fair share of disruption. The culture we create is all about feeling good about where and how we work — even if we move away from a shared, physical workplace.
To access the full reports from Gensler’s 2020 Workplace Surveys and the Gensler Research Institute’s latest data, visit gensler.com/research-insight.
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