The idea below is one of the 20+ ideas from our 2022 Workplace Experience Ideabook (which you can download here). Today's idea comes from Density's Nellie Hayat, who discusses how turning the office into a purpose-driven community will combat the forever changed climate of the workplace post pandemic.
Nellie Hayat, Workplace Innovation Lead, Density
The workplace has been disrupted and it is unlikely it will ever be the same. The office used to feel like the only place where work can happen. Now, it’s the least preferred option for the majority of employees.
At the top of the list for the best places to work at, we find:
1. Home
2. Local coffee shop
3. Nearby co-working space
4. Airbnb
Simultaneously, tools that empower remote work, virtual white-boarding and async collaboration have multiplied; and they are so ingrained in the ways we work today that it is illogical to think that a Return to Office will make them vanish. Instead, it signals a shift and leaders can’t afford to be shybrid.
Yet, none of the places listed above offers the promise to provide meaning to employees. The office can. Leaders must transform their offices into the heartbeat of the company and invite their distributed workforce to gather, make meaningful connections, create rituals and celebrate milestones. That means investing in redesigning the office for a purpose-driven community and creating a connected network of “community spaces” for employees to know what’s happening, when and where, so that they’re inspired to visit often.
To read more ideas from the 2022 Workplace Experience Ideabook, go to our download page.