The Future Of Work And The New Workplace: How To Make Work Better

It’s never smart to make sweeping generalizations (and never smart to say never), but it’s safe to say (nearly) everyone will be glad when the pandemic abates. Who knew this would last as long as it has. “If we had known then what we know now,” we can say to ourselves.

But if you listen closely, there are also people saying they don’t want to go back to the way things were—at least not entirely. It’s been great for many to have additional time with family and to work from home in fuzzy slippers, avoiding the commute. For some, their employers’ offices weren’t wonderlands of wonderful-ness and they would be happy not to return to things exactly as they were. They’d rather go back to something better than what they left.

Global studies by Steelcase (including—full disclosure—my own contribution to the research effort) included multiple research efforts engaging a total of 32,000 participants across 10 countries*. They provide data about what people want from their workplace.

Not surprisingly, most people want to work from home to a degree. But they don’t want to work from home exclusively. They want to come back to the office. 54% of US respondents say they expect to work from home one day a week or less; 26% say they expect to work from home just two to three days per week. It will be about the office, but it will be about more than that as well. Sure, the physical environment will be key, but so will the culture—the unwritten rules and norms that make an experience what it is. The most effective cultures create the conditions where people can thrive, and businesses do as well.

Here’s what the workplace will need to offer and what leaders and the culture will need to offer as well. These are the ways to inspire people to get back to the office and to help them work better in the future.

Safety

You recall the Maslow pyramid of needs—most of us learned about it in high school. At the bottom of the pyramid is safety, and it’s always been something people require. But unless they were in peril, it wasn’t something the average person paid much attention to. The pandemic has changed all that, of course. Today, people want everything from good air quality and adherence to safety protocols to cleanliness, physical distancing and appropriate density. The office will have to provide these.

But people also need safety in terms of psychological wellbeing. They need to feel like they are safe to bring themselves fully to work—whether they’re working from home or in the office. Mental health has suffered through the pandemic and research demonstrates when we are exposed to prolonged challenges (such as the pandemic), chronic stress can change the architecture of the brain causing fatigue, anxiety, fear and depression. With these conditions, a feeling of emotional safety and wellbeing are critical to people being able to participate fully in their work.

Leaders and companies must provide for literal safety—in terms of the facility and its cleanliness—but also social safety in which people feel levels of trust and inclusivity.

Community

Another reason people want to come back to the office, according to the studies, is because they want a sense of belonging. They miss their people—and don’t we all. According to research, people crave relationships in the same part of their brain they crave food. And they experience social pain (for example if they are excluded from a group) in the same part of their brain where they experience physical pain.

Work is fundamentally social and whether people are introverts or extroverts, work is typically a place to meet the need for connection—whether it’s with one or two close colleagues or with a giant social network. Time with others can also be a source of stimulation and inspiration. The genesis of a new idea may be a conversation with a coworker and the source for feeling energized is often the camaraderie we experience with others who share our interests or passions.

The office can provide a sense of community, and research demonstrates a correlation between the space and the experience of community. Offices which offer places where leaders are present and accessible, places where social connections are facilitated and places which offer stimulation and inspiration, are corelated with greater community. And this is, in turn, correlated with greater productivity, engagement, retention and innovation.

The culture, too, must deliver community and belonging. Work experiences in which people feel shared purpose and identity in pursuit of common goals contribute to this positive culture, as do experiences in which people feel shared accountabilities and a sense of collective resilience.

Performance

Working from home has not been a one-size-fits-all experience. For the empty-nester with a dedicated home office and few distractions, it has likely been significantly easier than for the couple raising three kids and facilitating at-home learning in a small apartment. In the US, people have struggled with isolation working from home, but also with a reduced sense of productivity and reduced speed in decision making.

The office will need to offer plenty of support for great performance. Douglas McGregor, the legendary professor of management, was right: people want to do a good job and they seek opportunities where they can do their best work. In recent studies, people report the desire to return to the office in order to collaborate, but also to focus in a quiet professional environment. They want access to tools and technology, and access to their professional network.

Likewise, leaders and companies will need to support people’s productivity and performance. Employees need business literacy and a sense of the “why” for their work—and a clear sense of how their work matters. Leaders must foster open relationships where they can provide feedback and receive feedback to address the unique needs of each employee and create the conditions for performance at both the individual and team level.

Flexibility

Globally, leaders agree flexibility will be the name of the game going forward. In April 2020, 63% of leaders expected increased flexibility in where and how people work. By September, 87% of leaders reported they expect an increase in flexible work policies.

Employees too, will demand greater flexibility in where, when and how they work. The office will need to offer plenty of variety and choice, offering all kinds of spaces to meet personal, collaborative, social and learning needs. Space will need to provide for personalization and a sense of control for people—over where and how they work. It will also need to provide for comfort. After a year of working at their kitchen islands or dining room chairs, people are longing for the comfort of an office designed to support work, rather than to support the family dinner. Companies will need to provide the best possible technology, so people can work from anywhere and they’ll need to consider how to make the home office environment better as well.

Likewise, leaders will need to ensure they are asking questions and listening—understanding the options which will be most beneficial to each employee. Of course, accountability will still be critical, and wise leaders will realize cultivating greater choice and flexibility will provide each employee with their best opportunities to contribute and excel.

In Sum

The pandemic has created an exceptional opportunity for learning—about how we work, what we need and how we can work better. To bring people back to the same old office and the same old work hours, would be a travesty. We have a chance to create better working conditions and better work experiences. This is the moment to improve work, workplaces, leadership and cultural approaches—no matter where people are working.  

 *Countries studied include: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.