Why It’s Time to Demand More From Our Workplace Experience

Imagine a future where, rather than coming into work and fumbling with space and technology, a building already knows you’re arriving because of a software update from the previous night. We need to demand more from our workplaces and buildings. Our buildings need to serve our communities better. They need to be designed to serve and support people who are using these spaces and doing the work. It is time to demand more from the workplace experience — more from technology, more of the impact we make on resilience, more for our whole selves, more for our health, and more of our investment in humanity.

In today’s rapidly changing environment, everyone is asking, “What is the future of work?” Most conversations are focused on the number of days in the office, which misses the point entirely. Work, and the way we work — and even our expectations about work — will always be evolving. The future workplace must be an experience multiplier, and a destination rather than an obligation.

Here are 10 considerations for reimagining the future workplace experience to deliver more:

1. Experiment.

We know the immediate future will be about experimenting, piloting, and learning. A one-size-fits all approach won’t work anymore. Workplaces should vary based on each company’s unique culture and purpose. The future workplace will need to respond to the needs of employees and changing demographics, as well as the evolving needs of different locations and cultures.

2. Embrace a new mix of uses.

Not only is it the end of the single-use office building — it’s also the end of the single-use office campus. The future office building/campus must embrace a mix of uses. A case in point is Mission Point, formerly a traditional corporate campus in Santa Clara, Calif., which has been recently renovated into a mixed-use development with 3 million square feet of office space, but adding 1,800 residential units, retail, childcare, and community spaces. Or Verizon at The Hub, located within Boston's The Hub on Causeway development, which was designed as an 18-story vertical campus to accelerate innovation, collaboration, and connection with its amenities spaces to complement The Hub’s public mixed-use spaces.

3. Bring the community in.

Our workplaces are demanding more inclusive and welcoming spaces for the community and the public as users. A great recent example is the LA County Department of Mental Health building: public spaces on upper floors are porous, light filled, welcoming, and connected to create a public space within the building, not just at the street level. This is a building that integrates the public, rather than shutting them out.

4. Celebrate well-being and connection.

Light, transparency, biophilia, and spaces for rejuvenation and connection are becoming central parts of workplaces. The new headquarters for Deutsche Bank in New York exemplifies how the human experience is dramatically improved when these factors become central to the design of the trading floors. These themes manifest differently in industry-specific needs and local culture specific ways.