What you need to know about the post-pandemic workplace

Over the last two years, tumultuous changes have forced companies to rethink every aspect of the employee experience. The RETHINK Office Conference brought together top industry leaders to discuss the changing landscape of the post-pandemic office and what it looks like for them.

Key takeaways:

  • Hybrid work is here to stay. The office is now a place for collaborative and activity-based work, and remote locations are for individual, focused work.
  • Employers realize the importance of creating equitable hybrid work experiences and are still working to find the best solution.
  • Companies are charting new courses right now. Collecting data and employee feedback is essential to see what’s working and what isn’t.
  • Technology is helping companies improve the employee experience and ensure safety without compromising privacy.

Bringing people back to the office

To successfully reintegrate the office into employees’ work lives, companies have to focus on the entire end-to-end employee experience. Michael Davidson, Global Head of Corporate Real Estate, J.P. Morgan Chase, points out that it’s essential to understand what it really means for employees to come back to the office. “When it comes to how to entice people back, I talk a lot about empathy. You know, people don’t beam themselves to offices. Commuting costs money; buying lunch costs money. You have to respect that.”

Respecting the effort and cost of coming back into the office means that the workplace now has to serve a specific purpose. Linda Foggie of Turner & Townsend says, “People don’t want to leave their homes and come to the office just to come to the office.” The office has to be “highly functional for the type of work they do” to motivate them to come in. In service of that, Amanda Quinton, Senior Director of Workplace Solutions at Walgreens, suggests asking, “What are those moments when we are going to be more effective and more productive to be back working together?”

What are those moments when we are going to be more effective and more productive to be back working together?

Amanda Quinton, Senior Director of Workplace Solutions at Walgreens

The post-pandemic office needs to provide a unique environment that facilitates activity-based work and collaboration in a way that we can’t replicate remotely. Working with others in person inspires spontaneous collaboration, socialization, and innovation that simply doesn’t happen during a scheduled Zoom meeting. The office is integral to these dynamic interactions.

As companies consider how to bring people back to the office, they need to recognize that they’re charting brand new courses with the post-pandemic workplace. Success requires checking in with employees to see what’s working and what isn’t. Joanne Wright of IBM explains the importance of humility in this situation: “We’ve learned so much that we didn’t know and that we still don’t know. We’re going to have to listen a lot and learn.”

Turner & Townsend has embraced this approach. Foggie says, “It’s really important to collect good data, to actually test it out and ask people,’ Are we doing this right?’ One of the things we’ve done in our firm is simply increasing the frequency of our employee engagement surveys. We do it every three months now instead of once a year.”

In addition to making offices fit for purpose, employers are also dedicated to creating spaces that support the health and wellness of employees. Over 75% of employees feel that it’s their company’s responsibility to make the workplace safe for them to return to. Employers use all the resources available to make that happen, from air quality sensors to innovative office design.  

Supporting health and wellness with innovative office layouts

Before COVID-19 upended the world of work, there was a slow-moving trend toward creating activity-based work environments to enhance collaboration. Companies were beginning to realize that densely packed offices weren’t the most productive use of their square footage. The pandemic forced these plans for updated office spaces to be put into practice much sooner than expected.

Emmanuel Daniel, Director of Smart Buildings & Campuses at Microsoft, agrees. The evolution of the workplace is happening now. He says, “In the past, we always thought office space was not reconfigurable in a dynamic way, but today the need for us to reconfigure physical space in a dynamic setting has become critical.”

At Sprinklr, they’re taking a “human-centered approach” to reconfiguring office layouts. Tony Vargas, Global Head of Workplace, says, “One of the things made clear by the pandemic is that … the intrinsic purpose of these workplaces is to unify people.”  

The intrinsic purpose of workplaces is to unify people.

Tony Vargas, Global Head of Workplace at Sprinklr

This human-centered approach has inspired a variety of new office layouts. Diageo is introducing a technology lab to support whiteboarding, collaboration, and engagement. At Vocon, they are “completely redefining what the term ‘hoteling’ means … We’re rebalancing shared and individual spaces,” says Megan Spinos, Principal & Strategy Director. The importance of where someone sits has become secondary to what they are there to accomplish. The hoteling model also keeps employees safe and healthy by allowing more distance between work areas and controlling how many people are in a space at once.

With all the focus now on collaborative spaces rather than 1:1 seating, should companies downsize their footprints?  

Kate Davis, Director – Commercial Interiors at HKS, says no. “We’ll focus on the space in the office to be the collaboration time, to check in and have team meetings. I don’t see us going down in space, but how we use that space will be radically different from pre-COVID.”

Providing equitable hybrid experiences

Companies have been using data combined with simple trial and error to find practical solutions to support remote and hybrid work. When everyone was working remotely at the start of the pandemic, employers quickly realized that there wasn’t an equitable distribution of work-from-home resources. There’s a big discrepancy between what’s available to a CEO and what an entry-level worker has access to. For employees with limited resources or in areas that lack sufficient broadband, successfully working from home was difficult, if not impossible.  

Diageo addressed this inequitable distribution of resources by providing a work-from-home tool kit and an allowance to help employees get what they needed to create a suitable home office environment. At Sprinklr, rather than a blanket approach, they focused on individual needs. “We asked people to speak to their managers to help us understand and meet their specific needs,” says Vargas.

Another equity issue that panel members touched on was how to create better experiences between virtual and in-office workers. Peter Babigian of Cerami says that “the meeting after the meeting” when people are casually talking is where culture is built. Remote workers don’t get to participate in those “unintentional collisions” that foster a positive culture and innovative ideas.

“I do think the experience is going to be better, at least at the outset, for those who are physically present,” says Spinos.”We really need to focus on making sure the people that are remote can see and engage with others. We’re still navigating our way through that.” Michelle Myer of Oracle agrees that there is still work to be done in this area. She says, “There’s still a lot more change management that’s needed in how we link people from a physical environment to that virtual environment.”

Using technology to create more functional workspaces

At the start of “Getting Digital: Where New Technology & Innovations are Saving the Day,” Emmanuel Daniel of Microsoft poses an important question: “Why are we building real estate when a person can work anywhere?

Daniel believes the reason lies in “the values of productivity, engagement, team dynamics, and innovation [which] are spurred when people come together. “Companies worldwide are embracing new technologies to help them create these dynamic workspaces. Sensor technology was lauded as a must-have by many panel members for its ability to track occupancy, noise levels, air quality, and space usage.

Sensors also collect valuable data that allows employers to provide flexible spaces and more amenities to improve the overall employee experience. For example, if your office gets noisy and you need a quiet space to work, sensor technology can direct you to the perfect spot.

Francisco Ruiz of Oracle says that they use badging data, occupancy sensors, and people-counting technology to “put convenience at the fingertips of our employees” and “ensure that our spaces are utilized and designed correctly.”

Desk booking is another technology that is proving useful. Many employers have moved to a hoteling model that allows the office to be much more flexible. Bruce MacAffer, Head of Group Real Estate at WPP, says the booking systems provide “incredibly rich data about when people are coming in, who they are grouping with. It gives us really good utilization data about different departments and how they’re using space.”

Maintaining privacy in the technology-driven office

This influx of data allows companies to make smarter decisions about the spaces they create, but privacy concerns always come up when implementing new technologies. Matt Harris, Workplace Technologies Product Manager at Okta, has simple advice to help preserve employee privacy: “Start by choosing technologies that are privacy-first and privacy-focused. Until you determine that you need the ability to bring in identifiable data or track an individual, don’t do it.”

Until you determine that you need the ability to bring in identifiable data or track an individual, don’t do it.

Matt Harris, Workplace Technologies Product Manager at Okta

It’s also imperative to be transparent about how you collect and use data. For a successful “smart” office, you have to build trust with employees. You have to give assurances that you’re not going to use the data you collect for anything other than your stated purpose.

“The question we always get is, ‘Are you looking at me? Are you tracking me?’ No, we’re not,” Daniel says. “It’s the choice that we give to [employers], to process the services and data at the edge. So people feel comfortable that we’re not using that data for anything other than the sole goal of delighting them.”

It’s important to be cognizant of what and why we are measuring, without feeding into the growing need for a central understanding of people, as Andrew Farah, CEO of Density, recently discussed at Axios: What’s Next Summit.

Looking ahead

Employers are forging new paths in the post-pandemic era, and they’re using office technologies such as sensors and desk-booking systems to collect data that will inform their future office design choices.

Employee privacy and wellness are top of mind for each company, as is creating equitable hybrid work experiences. But no one has all the answers yet. Workplace leaders are relying on data and frequent check-ins with employees to determine the best direction for the post-pandemic office.

Feature: Live Occupancy Activity on an office floor plan

Harry Potter fans will immediately remember the Marauder’s Map. For everyone else, it’s magical piece of parchment that reveals where people are walking throughout a given space. This coveted, fantastical tool would illuminate footprints pacing down hallways and sneaking around corners. Whoever obtained the Marauder’s Map could anticipate personal encounters, navigate around busy areas, and check for empty rooms where they could be alone. You know… to do magical stuff.

Live Occupancy Activity puts the power of real time activity monitoring in the hands of workplace managers.

Now, that wonderful map is no longer just storybook nostalgia — it’s a real thing. Our newest feature: Live Occupancy Activity puts the power of real time activity monitoring in the hands of workplace managers and employees trying to navigate their return to work both safely and productively. The main difference is that our technology is 100% anonymous. You can monitor where, when, and how many… but never who.

Paired with our Open Area sensor, workplace teams can now see which spaces in the building are most frequently used, most often vacant, and where the bottlenecks occur during day to day use. We like to say that “People vote with their feet.” As in, they will return to their favorite conference rooms, lounge chairs, workstations, and phone booths. We enable teams to view these patterns in real time and use that data to operate their offices more efficiently.

As companies roll out their return to work plans with hybrid models and desk hoteling, our customers are using this feature to stay ahead of crowds, save big on costly leases, and make the most out of their physical space. Demo this new feature live.

What is hot desking? The rise of hoteling and the hybrid workplace

The post-pandemic rise of remote work and hybrid working environments has forced us to look at our office space in a new light.

A traditional office, where employees work at a desk all day long, is no longer the standard.

“I think the days of being at a desk, and being at an office 8 hours are gone.”

Izzy Sanchez, Head of Global Workplace and Real Estate, Twitch.

Employees want to come and go as they please. Abolishing the standard practice of assigned seating enables office workers to “check-in” to any open seat. This system is known as hot desking, and it’s an increasingly popular solution to managing a flexible workforce.

But what is hot desking?

Hot desking (or hoteling) makes the flexible management of your workforce within the confines of your existing real estate footprint easier. It also empowers your team to choose how and where they work and offers cost savings by potentially minimizing your need to expand your real-estate footprint.

An alternative to the traditional assigned seating seen in workplaces, hot desking abolishes the need for a permanent office desk and creates flexibility. A desk, private office, or meeting room may become a communal area that anyone might use.

The term likely comes from “hot racking”, which sees sailors working different shifts share the same bunk. The goal is to maximize the efficiency of your space while reducing redundant space and property risk.

Hot desking is popular in offices with open floor plans. But it can be used to reserve more than just desks. Employees who need private office spaces for heads-down work can reserve these spaces just like an individual workstation. Teams that need to brainstorm and collaborate can also book meeting rooms.

Hot desking vs hoteling

While both hot desking and hoteling refer to open seating where any available desk can be claimed by whoever gets to it first, hoteling requires the space to be reserved. Both are generally used to claim a spot for a day or half-day. Software allows employees to book the desk or private office space they need, for whatever purpose they like. Hot desking doesn’t have such formality and works on a first-come, first-served basis without the need for desk booking. 

Meeting room booking, on the other hand, usually refers to booking a space like a conference room for a shorter period of time.

The benefits of hot desking

One of the biggest potential advantages of hot desking is cost savings — it can reduce unnecessary real estate expenses by eliminating excess space. 

For example, facilities managers can shift away from a 1-person-1-desk ratio, giving them more room to create hackable spaces with flex furniture. Employees can essentially create the space they need, for the type of work they’re performing. 

Hot desking can also promote cross-team collaboration. Employees might find themselves sitting next to colleagues they rarely work with. This encourages teamwork, strengthens relationships, and improves rapport between departments.

Managing your hot desking environment

For your occupants, hot desking should be straightforward: reserve a desk, plug in, and start working.

Making it a seamless experience for employees takes effort. Admins need to continuously monitor space usage to determine and adapt to the needs of their workers. 

The ideal hot-desking model ensures employees never have to struggle to find a workspace that fits their needs at that given moment. That means making accessible (and reservable) space types like phone booths, conference rooms, quiet spaces, collaboration spaces, and more.

“A lot of people talk about the office being just for collaboration and socialization, and I think that’s missing a big part of the picture if you inadvertently assume home is best for focus,” says Sameer Pangrekar, Director – Global Strategy, Design & Construction, REW at Twitter.

Hot desking is a personalized strategy. Your approach should reflect the unique needs of your people. Real-time workplace data helps you ensure you have the suitable space types based on actual demand. But it’s also important to couple your analytical data with employee feedback. 

For example, surveys might uncover that while some of your people want lockers, others avoid storing personal items at work. And data might uncover that some teams spend much more time at their desks — meaning they may need dedicated workstations. 

Your strategy should adapt to the realities of the workplace.

Making hot desking work

Managing the change

Studies have discovered a link between hot desking and increased innovation among entrepreneurs. The flexibility of hot desks, coupled with the ability to pool knowledge, diversify social interactions, and decentralize the innovative process, encourages new ideas.

It also reduces the risk of project fatigue and burnout.

Many employees feel ‘unmoored’ without assigned office desks. They’re attached to their personal space or work area.

Often, this is a change management issue. Many workplace leaders say that after the initial hurdle of transition, teams embrace this new structure.

Case in point, CBRE. More than half of CBRE’s portfolio is in a Workplace 360 office featuring unassigned seating.

“Shockingly, across 90 offices, 93% of our people said they would not go back to the old model [assigned seating].”

Peter Van Emburgh, CBRE.

Nida Mehtab, Bay Area Lead for Workplace Strategy, Experience Transformation, and Change Management at Advanced Workplace Associates, says change management is about leading employees gradually to your desired result.

“It’s really important to think, ‘how do I bring my employees along this curve?'” she says. “Frustration occurs when you don’t respect that certain expectation of predictability.

Design for variety

Hot desking isn’t as simple as throwing a few desks in an open space and leaving people to it.

You have to plan for future needs, for the needs of potential remote workers, freelancers, or contractors who may be brought in. Twilio’s tackling this, in part, through hackable spaces.

Devorah Rosner, Twilio’s Senior Manager of Global Workplace Operations, says her team will convert approximately 30% of previously desk-occupied square footage into communal areas with reconfigurable furniture.

She understands that the collaboration that happens in a shared space is unique. It encourages a sense of community that allows people to comfortably share ideas and allows for those accidental interactions that can lead to surprising innovations.

“We’re reallocating those spaces as hackable spaces, scrum spaces,” she says. “We’re calling them dynamic spaces, where furniture is reconfigurable. It’s no longer one-size-fits-all. It allows more variety to meet people where they are, to work how they work.”

Choose how folks can reserve space

Hourly. Team members can reserve a desk for the length of time they anticipate needing it, be it one hour or multiple hours. Super flexible in nature, but not ideal if employees seem to prefer to reserve spaces for hours at a time (your insights will tell you this). Also, this can create a safety issue in the post-COVID world (you have to sanitize each desk between use).

Daily. Employees have a single desk or an area to work in for an entire day. This is incredibly popular; however, many workplace leaders we’ve talked with think daily isn’t long enough. They’re thinking about reservations based on a project’s needs, which can be weeklong or monthlong.

Teams. If you have employees who need to function together, an area (often called a neighborhood) can be reserved. Below is an example of how Density’s booking software, Workplace, lets admins quickly allot reservable space by the team.

Managing reservable space in Density.

 

Global brands who have embraced hot desking

Deloitte

When Deloitte moved into their clean and ‘green’ futuristic new building, the Edge, in Amsterdam, they implemented a new hot-desking initiative. According to Ron Bakker, Partner of PLP Architecture, “A quarter of this building is not allocated desk space, it’s a place to meet.”

He has described their office environment as being less about space than it is about “making a working community, and for people to have a place that they want to come to, where ideas are nurtured, and the future is determined.”

Microsoft

Microsoft shifted to an activity-based workplace in response to a struggling collaborative environment. They hoped it would ensure better communication between their employees and customers.

Division Business Group Director Steven Miller said of the initiative, “If you asked people what they love, it’s the flexible environment.” He explained that making team members accountable for their jobs vs. being present at an office 8 hours a day has caused a significant shift in workplace culture. “The key difference is that we’re empowering people and making them more creative.”

Square

Operating from their San Francisco office, Square has a completely open and innovative floor plan that offers various environments for staff to choose from.

Square’s layout is activity-based. It gives employees at all levels a chance to sit at high-top tables with their CEO while finding different ways of collaborating with the rest of the team.

Maja Henderson, Office Manager at Square, said of their hot-desking policy, “I love how flexible it is, and that there are always different people sitting at my desk. It makes me feel more in touch with my co-workers and what’s going on in the company.”

LEGO

A tour of LEGO’s London offices will show you flexible working zones without any assigned seating to ensure team members can choose the setting that best supports their activities or tasks for the day. A mixture of open booths, small huddle rooms, private meeting spaces, and plenty of room to write on the walls truly embraces the character of the LEGO brand.

Sophie Patrikios, a former Project Leader at LEGO, reflected on their hot-desking system, stating that “Momentum is key, and we’re using that momentum to change anything from ownership of desks to better meetings to clearer lines of communication.”

Final thoughts

Hot desking is rapidly becoming an established part of the new normal. It allows you to offer flexibility, optimize the workplace experience, and make the most of your real estate footprint.

Whether you’re implementing a permanent remote working policy, adjusting to a hybrid working environment, or trying to find ways of simply being more flexible in the wake of COVID, hot desking may be the answer.