Originally perceived as temporary during the pandemic, the remote office quickly became a new normal. Now as we pass the two-year mark and gradually return to the office, many people are wondering what the workplace will look like in a hybrid environment.
Throughout this period, Mia Blanchett and Win Roney, National Market Sector Leaders for our Government and Workplace practices, helped steer this hybrid environment while fostering productive relationships with clients and design teams across our 12 national offices.
In the following, Mia and Win offer advice for the future of the workplace—and suggest opportunities to rethink and reimagine the workplace.
What are you looking forward to as we return to the office?
As a design firm, we thrive on being collaborative. We’ve learned a lot in the last couple of years about how to successfully collaborate virtually, but it can never replace the human connection when we are face-to-face.
What is your research telling you about how people work?
It’s become clear that everyone works differently. We’ve entered a new normal in which there is no one-size-fits-all template. We’ve discovered that for most knowledge workers, heads down work may be best done at home or in a third place and not necessarily in the office. We’ve also learned that people are most effective when they can choose how and where they want to work. Providing people with a variety of settings and spaces to work is essential now.
How are you balancing the needs of the employee with those of the employer?
There’s been a bit of a power shift from manager more toward the employee. With the current competition for talent, employees have more choices. Perceptions have shifted about how employees choose to use their time. It’s much more acceptable now to step away from your work, for example personal events, errands, etc.
Is the new normal about giving people choice?
Absolutely, more than ever! Choice of where, when, and how one wants to work will be key to the employee experience in the new hybrid workplace. Recruitment, retention, and employee satisfaction will be the drivers for how successful the hybrid workplace is performing. The good news is that we can measure these drivers.
Describe the employee experience over the next year?
For most organizations there is a real thirst for being together. We want to meet our new employees. Especially with organizations that have grown and thrived, there are so many new employees that have never had the opportunity to learn or be mentored by their peers—or even meet in person. Also, determining the right combination of working in the office or working remotely will take time and experimentation to find out what works best for everyone. We will all have to adapt to this hybrid workplace. It will be a time for everyone to try new things and see what works—and remain nimble.
How does equity fit into the new office?
This is an evolving conversation that we are having as a firm and with our clients. Being inclusive is the first step. What we mean by that is providing the right tools, technology, and work settings in a hybrid workplace will be key to attracting and retaining employees. We need to find better ways to make everyone feel as though they are on equal footing, regardless whether they are in the office or working remotely. In the hybrid workplace, the FOMO (fear of missing out) factor is something that we have been researching and will pay close attention to moving forward.
How are you approaching workplace equity in settings requiring physical proximity?
The workplace includes functions beyond the office, such as labs of all types, manufacturing, distribution, and service providing. The nature of this work, and the special equipment required to do this work, cannot be sent home or done remotely. Within these workplaces, it is important to identify what the inequities are and how to minimize them. For example, we need to install and use technology in the right way so that it closes, rather than increases, the equity gap.
What advice do you have for your clients?
As we emerge from the pandemic and self-imposed isolation of the past 24+ months, we need to rethink and reimagine the purpose of the workplace. Some of the questions that we have to ask are:
- Why do we have a workplace and what is its function?
- What collectively do we want out of the workplace?
- What should the employee experience look like?
At the end of the day, we are advising our clients to DO SOMETHING. This is not the time to sit back and hope that your employees return to the office as though it is business as usual. Better to experiment with new ideas and improvements to your workplace and get feedback from your most important assets—your employees—than sit back and hope. As we move forward, we will continue to learn and share lessons learned with our clients. Stay tuned for more Return-to-Office ongoing advice from HGA’s workplace experts.