As we head back to the office, a growing number of organizations have accepted the addition of remote work as a permanent part of their workplace strategy. Ironically, the concept of a fluid and agile workforce supported by technologies that enable us to “work anywhere” has been possible for over a decade, it took a pandemic for us to fully embrace it. Designing a space built around this hybrid work approach is still proving to be confusing to most. Knowing how many seats and what square footage will be needed are the questions many real estate professionals have been trying to wrap their arms around.

But, before we discuss how to get there, let us reflect on how we got here.

Learning from the past

Workplaces have traditionally been planned around the total number of offices and workstations needed based on current headcounts and projected business growth. These spaces were generally assigned based on hierarchy, position or title; giving little regard for how individuals were best able to perform their work. But even pre-COVID, these types of organizational structures were increasingly seen as antiquated, as people recognized the need for different environments depending on the task that was being performed. Individual focus, team collaboration, innovation and engagement all require different settings with varied types of technology, acoustics, visual privacy, and even differing postures and comfort.