Dusty Duistermars, Global Alliances Lead at JLL, was the first guest on The Collaboration Space. The hot topic in May of 2020? Returning to the office. Now, two years later, Dusty joins us again to talk about how physical office space is changing, what hybrid work looks like, and workplace trends.
Watch the Podcast to Learn More
How businesses are a to flexible work requirements
Ask Dusty Duistermars about hybrid work and the return to office and he’s quick to point out that work continues to happen. Offices are open. It’s not work that has changed. It’s how work is scheduled and how we use office space that looks different.
During the pandemic, offices adopted COVID protocols that created more physical space between people in the office and reduced the number of people who could work from the office. These changes limited the organic collaboration that occurs between colleagues on a daily basis. Businesses are inviting employees back to the office but it’s a low percentage who are in-office full time. People haven’t returned to the office to work in the same way they did before.
If the majority of workers prefer a hybrid work schedule, what does that mean for corporate office spaces?
Listen to the podcast to hear a more in-depth discussion about how businesses are changing their workplace to adapt to worker needs and preferences, including:
- Redesigning office spaces to facilitate collaboration
- Investing in technology–not only to enable collaboration, but to manage the scheduling of rooms and resources, and to track in-office availability of coworkers
- Creating intentional opportunities for face-to-face collaboration
- Focusing on culture and brand so employees feel like they are part of something when they do come into the office
How to create space for hybrid workers
Hybrid work isn’t a new concept. Today’s trend of employees wanting to choose how and where they work based on the project they need to complete is really the next iteration of activity-based work. Dusty Duistermars calls it, “activity-based working on steroids.” Because now, it’s not just about getting a space in the office that is designed to support a specific activity. It’s knowing when people will be in the office and when they’ll be working remotely. It’s high-quality spaces that are built for video with good lighting, integrated sound, and cameras that will follow the speaker automatically. It’s also the spaces outside of the central office. For some companies, this may include:
- Regional satellite offices with multiple spaces built to facilitate team engagement, where employees gather for quarterly meetings
- Co-working spaces for home-based employees
- Managed workspace platforms that provide office access to remote/flexible employees
