What will the workplace look like a year from now? One thing is clear: The working assumption that office life can "go back" to what it was before 2020 is just wrong.
Three out of every four workers say that working hybrid is now non-negotiable for them. The coming year will see a return of a kind for the office, but one which is organized in a very different way. Here are three predictions for a healthier, happier and more productive workplace.
An end to flex-shaming
Early in 2022, the British HR expert Gemma Dale coined the phrase "flex-shaming" in a LinkedIn post. It captures well the bad faith some leaders showed to workers who aren't physically in front of them. Among the most famous is David Solomon of Goldman Sachs who in 2021 called working from home "an aberration we're going to correct as quickly as possible." In October, Solomon told CNBC that about 75% of its people were in the office on any given day of the week pre-pandemic and now it's about 65%.
Read more: As 2022 comes to a close, employees are still craving remote and hybrid work
Even if bosses think they can impose their will, legislative changes around the world are favoring flexibility. Over a billion people from Greece to Thailand are already being affected by changes in the law to facilitate remote or hybrid work. What matters is creating a culture of trust and transparency between bosses and employees to reach solutions, not as dry policy but by mutual agreement. There's no place for flex-shaming in 2023.
Softening hybrid's hard edges
This is not to say that hybrid work is a picnic. Recent global data from property consultancy JLL show that compartmentalizing between office and home is a major problem. Some 25% of hybrid workforces feel socially isolated and 59% expect wherever they work to pay attention to their health and well-being. Anxiety around social cohesion and productivity in hybrid offices is gaining traction: Marc Benioff, the founder and chief executive officer of technology firm Salesforce, who also sits on the board of the World Economic Forum, recently told a company-wide Slack forum that new hires weren't being productive enough, and asked "are we not building tribal knowledge with new employees without an office culture?" Piloting any changes for as little as three months or as long as a year should become the new normal until things settle down.
The workplace as social space
Although data shows that 84% of the reduction in office space is associated with hybrid working, the repurposing of both offices to be more social, plus an investment in the experience of work, is growing. The U.S. Office Occupier Sentiment Survey from property firm CBRE shows that 36% of leaders are curating workplace experiences and events as part of their strategy to create community and increase presence in offices. People need a reason to come to a place which goes beyond mobile technology they can access from anywhere. That reason is simple: Other people.
Read more: The best benefit for 2023: A hybrid work schedule
While the base of work's snow globe has shifted from place to person, we all do need to work and meet somewhere. Here's hoping 2023 is the return of the office in its new, improved form.
