Workplace of the Future

Workplace of the Future Playbook

Introduction The Workplace of the Future Playbook is a set of actionable recommendations based on empirical data gathered from a variety of industry resources and decades of experience designing and implementing effective workplace environments. The COVID-19 pandemic has had little effect in generating new design thinking relative to workplace environments or products. Instead, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of planning, design, cultural, operational, equipment, material, technological, custodial, and administrative norms for companies and their workplace.

Companies large and small are re-considering their office environments as a critical tool for improvement of their human, fiscal, and facilities performance, rather than simply a cost center. The road to the Workplace of the Future should start with culture, yet be paved by a data-driven, people-centric approach. Creating the Workplace of the Future begins with championing from the executive leadership and includes IT, HR, marketing/branding, security, finance, operations/manufacturing, and real estate/facilities management.

Investing in human happiness is good business, especially in the post-pandemic economy. Autonomy and wellness lead in employee satisfaction surveys, while safety and security are essential to workforce engagement. The well-being of employees - physical, emotional, mental, and financial well-being – is a competitive advantage in the marketplace.1 Well-being is manifested by: • • • • • •

Reduced healthcare costs Reduced absenteeism and presenteeism Increased productivity Recruitment, development, and retention of talent Improved space utilization Reduced operating expenses

The pandemic has presented a generational reset moment for companies to review remote workforce initiatives and assess existing office environments.2 Both explorations have significant cultural implications. What we have learned through our research is that the work of many corporations is increasingly project-based and requires multi-disciplinary and multi-functional collaboration. Meeting the needs of teams and enabling collaboration is essential to fully unlocking the potential of staff productivity.

Operations/ Manufacturing Finance

IT

HR

Workplace of the Future

Marketing/ Branding

Real Estate/ Facilities Management

Security

Space Prototypes Hybrid work environments are characterized as primarily open, visually connected workspaces. While the hybrid environment retains the traditional office elements of private offices, open workstations, open collaboration space, and meeting rooms, the hybrid workplace is less dense, more flexible, provides for greater social distancing, and relies more heavily on integrated IoT (Internet of Things) capabilities than its predecessors.4 These comparative illustrations show how the configuration of the hybrid workplace elements achieve their intended function, but with greater flexibility and social distancing. Another important characteristic of the hybrid work environment is the deployment of a standard planning module. These modules support the basic office elements as interchangeable components. This strategy allows facility managers to reconfigure space without having to modify the buildings infrastructure, thus maintaining flexibility in the use of space over time.

What environments are people choosing when offices re-open?3

• Those who choose the office, do so for culture, camaraderie, faceto-face collaboration, effective/ ergonomic workspace, and connection to managers.

• Those who choose home for work, do so for work-life balance, comfort, stress reduction, and job satisfaction.

How do these choices breakdown demographically?5 Employees at all levels choose the office or home equally for collaboration and productivity, as follows:

• Executives choose the home for

productive time to reduce

interruptions when collaboration is

unnecessary.

• Associates choose the office for

productive time to reduced

interruptions and for workplace

effectiveness.

* CBRE PERSPECTIVE ON The Future of Furniture How Will Office Furniture Adapt to Move Forward? August 2020

How are companies managing this fluid work force?6 Companies are recognizing the hybrid workplace design and attendance models offer employees the opportunity to choose what works for them, while experiencing no reduction in overall performance.

• Industry survey respondents report

the greatest acceptable levels of

remote workforce to be in the range

of 25 to 30%.

• National survey respondents report

that workplace safety and

security are synonymous with

assigned workstations.

Space Prototypes Private Office: Executive Offices will likely remain unchanged in the hybrid model, except for the infusion of new technologies. Other private offices, however, are much less likely to be used for small meetings, and therefore will reduce in size to support single occupancy productive work effort. Private offices are also interchangeable as small huddle spaces with virtual collaboration technologies easily added.

Increased air flow and improved air quality serving these spaces may be changed to reflect newer standards/ expectations of performance via building wide infrastructure improvements. Similarly, cleaning protocols and procedures may be reexamined to serve the existing spaces.

However, no alteration to the physical characteristics of this room are expected.

Open Office: Along with the open collaboration areas, open office workstations are the most heavily utilized and most heavily shared elements of the hybrid workplace. Both in workstation and bench configuration these spaces are easily personalized day to day and accommodate a wide variety of work styles.

Research tells us that associates are more fearful that ever before to share worksurfaces with co-workers. Shared workspaces will require choreographed scheduling with regular cleaning protocols between users and certification of cleaning via a virtual reservation system or physical sign on a desk similar to a hotel.

Open Collaboration Space: Open collaboration space is the model of flexibility, easily reconfigured and infused with low and high-tech collaboration devices, a variety of furniture types, and includes privacy devices to allow for sub-dividing the space, or to create greater separation between collaboration and nearby quiet production space.

Meeting Rooms: Just as geared toward group participation as the old board room table, meeting rooms in the hybrid office support a multitude of in-person and virtual meeting agendas for group consumption and participation. These rooms are sized for more square foot allocation per occupant and can provide each occupant personal working surfaces. Enhanced technology packages are expected in each room to accommodate the interconnectivity of a hybrid work environment including, monitors, soundbars, microphones, cameras, and integrated computers or laptop connectivity.

Common Amenities Conference Centers: Beyond collaboration space within departments, there may be concern welcoming visitors into an office space. Maintaining a reservable set of conferencing and collaboration amenities close to entrances allows for division of visitors and contact tracing.

Health and Wellness: The care and nurturing of employees is a competitive advantage in the recruitment and retention of talent. Improved amenities are one way to attract associates to return to the office and accommodate for new routines or habits developed during working from home. Accommodations for the following wellness initiatives are shown to improve staff satisfaction and attendance: Fitness Facilities – Regularly utilized by only 5-10% of any staff, fitness facilities are deeply important to those employees who use them and are recognized by almost half of new hires as a factor in their employment decision-making. Appropriately right-sized to meet the real needs for weight-training, cardio-training, and even small class offerings, a fitness facility is recommended as a reservable amenity.

• Outdoor Space/Relaxation Space – Weather dependent, employees seek a readily accessible means to decompress from the stresses of daily work. Urban and suburban office locations each provide unique opportunities via roof terraces, walking paths, serenity rooms, quiet reading rooms, or recreation spaces to break from the rigors of work-related concentration.

• Healthy Food and Beverage Options – No large-scale cafeteria or dining facility is recommended either during or post-pandemic.

Instead, break facilities are planned for each department on a per-floor basis to accommodate access to healthy, touchless grab-andgo food and beverage options throughout the day. During lunch breaks staff members are encouraged to either bring their lunch or to support the food courts or eating establishments in their local neighborhoods.

• Managed Waste and Recycling Program – Implementation of an easily accessible recycling and medical waste program is encouraged.

The pandemic has taught us the value of diligence in protecting one another through the safe disposal of personal protection equipment, such as masks, gloves, face shields, etc. Repurposing, recycling, and safely reusing office materials and equipment substantially reduces landfill-directed materials and is an indication to employees of corporate conscience and priorities. Consideration of composting stations near coffee stations and food preparation areas is also a step to demonstrating a concern for sustainability.

•

Shared amenities, like shared workspace, are dependent on an enhanced cleaning protocol and infrastructure improvement methods for both workplace safety and trust of the employees.

A national survey of office staff, corporate leaders, real estate brokerage companies, and office building owners, highlights amenities as key to both recruiting top talent, increasing company performance measures, and achieving wellness and sustainability initiatives.

Space has been provided for amenities and are recommended to be included as assets for all staff members to benefit from.

Infrastructure Recommendations High performing facilities are run on robust and largely invisible infrastructure systems. These important systems are the biggest contributors to the operating costs of facilities, as well as the largest source of frustration for office users and facilities managers, alike. Therefore, these systems have the greatest opportunity to reduce operating costs and improve office user experience. Recommendations described in this section are based on current system conditions, regulatory changes, operational improvements, and advancement and corresponding trends in technology.7,8 Integrated IoT (Internet of Things) Capabilities and Touchless Technologies: Innovations in technology are evolving at a pace that makes investment in technology infrastructure a corporate imperative. Spurred by the pandemic, there is also a heightened preference for touchless and automated building services. Building improvements should address both technological advancement as well as touchless automation.

A nimble workforce requires a nimble infrastructure, and a nimble infrastructure requires a sophisticated management system. Enter IoT capabilities as a potential solution for both creating a seamless, invisible, and customizable infrastructure and a facilities performance management tool. A strategically employed set of sensors and controllers can manage building security, space reservation, lighting, heating and cooling, daylight harvesting, vertical transportation, sound masking, food and beverage equipment, communication, and custodial services (to name a few) as well as measure the performance of each in real time.

While the capabilities are endless, an evaluation of intentional and planned user experiences is essential to understanding and investing in what is critical to a company’s brand and culture. In the meantime, touchless technologies will decrease likelihood of contact transfer of harmful contaminants.

Vertical Transportation: Elevator improvements and optimization of vertical conveyance to support timely navigation and universal accessibility.

• Recommendation includes cabs with cleanable interior finishes, touchless controllers, and remote programming.

Air-handling Systems and Technologies: The pandemic has also elevated the importance of the HVAC systems in interrupting the propagation and distribution of pathogens.

HVAC systems should be evaluated for their condition, age, useful life expectancy, ability to meet new standards, and resulting obsolescence.

Consideration should be given to office user comfort and zoning capabilities in response to varying sun exposures.

Infrastructure Recommendations Air-handling Systems and Technologies (continued): Filtration systems add a level of complexity to management of energy consumption, efficient operations, and longevity of building HVAC systems. Additional filtration reduces flow rates, which increase pressure on air handling motors. Alternative UV technologies are expensive to implement and have varying reports of success in eradicating pathogens. Facilities managers consistently recommend the following best practices for safety and healthy, as well as high-performing HVAC systems: • • • •

Augmented filtration to an appropriate efficiency of operation Maintain positive internal air pressure for all office spaces Increase the number of fresh-air changes to an appropriate efficiency of operation Implement Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization Systems as a measure of improving filtration in reducing aerosolized particulates and airborne pathogens

Building Enclosures: HVAC systems are only as efficient as the building enclosure is in protecting the interior environment from solar, thermal and air transference of energy. The quality of a building enclosure is directly related to the building technologies of their era and are expensive to replace. Building enclosures should be evaluated for thermal efficiency and remediation of energy loss should be investigated. Improvements may include: • • • • •

Replacement of caulks and sealants Added insulation Installation of window glazing films and/or shades Replacement of ineffective building components Enhanced operability to allow for outdoor air flow

Building Automation and Management Technologies: In close coordination and integration with IoT capabilities described earlier, is the ability of these same sensors and controllers to automatically respond to certain input and measure the performance, utilization, and consumption of any commodity. Building Automation Systems (BAS) technology is well established in the marketplace and is commonplace in facilities management. These systems can enable remote control of all aspects of the building environment and measure consumption of utilities, comparing performance data over time signaling needs for service or upgrades.

Space utilization measurement, light/sound/temperature automation, and space utilization triggering concentration of cleaning protocols, material replacement notifications, and work order generation, etc. are just a few of the newer applications of this growing set of technologies to manage and monitor operational effectiveness. These are appropriate considerations to fulfill the mission for a seamless employee work experience.

Operations Re-Entry: Re-entry of the workforce to the office requires planning. Establishing protocols based on clear expectations make their implementation and adherence more effective. Staging re-entry over a period of time to get staff acclimated to the new shared work environment both during and post-pandemic may be necessary. Here are several short-term recommendations in this regard: •

• •

• •

• •

Establish a set of graphic tools that reinforce the protocols for facility use, wayfinding system throughout the facility, and behaviors that are expected throughout Make these graphic cues available upon entering any facility and reinforced throughout Consider offering welcome packages to first-time visitors that include and reinforce the same expectations, include personal protectives and sanitizers, wayfinding map, and promotional materials that incentivize adherence to the protocols Establish a one-way circulation pattern through the facilities, both vertically (up and down stair designations) and horizontally (corridors) Recognize the logjam that will occur at elevators due to reduced cab capacity. Consider staggering staff start-times to reduce elevator wait-times. Offer stairs designated for ascending travel Implementation of a robust custodial cleaning and restocking program is essential to a trustworthy workplace Review these measures weekly, monthly and quarterly for modifications as necessary

Space Reservation System: A critical operational necessity to ensure the success of a hybrid workplace is the implementation of a robust space reservation system.

Often referred to as an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) system or Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS), these systems allow staff to reserve work stations, collaboration space, and meeting rooms at both the department and corporate level. This is a highly recommended operational asset.

These systems can be integrated into the BAS and IoT systems to prepare a space for occupancy automatically, ensure collaboration technology is available, measure space utilization and attendance, and schedule custodial services once a space is vacated. As hybrid workspaces are predominantly a shared workspace of transient users, a trustworthy space management system is imperative to the success of a remote workforce strategy.

Computer Aided Facilities Management: For most organizations, facilities are second to only human resources as the largest expense to their operations. Therefore, organizations of over 1,000 employees and/or that operate more than 1,000,000 square feet of owned facilities are recommended to implement a Computer Aided Facilities Management System (CAFM). These systems are designed to manage all the human, financial, operational, and loose and fixed assets of a company’s real estate portfolio in one integrated management and reporting platform.

CAFM systems are designed to integrate with Human Resources, Facilities Engineering, Space IoT systems, etc. in order to accurately report critical facilities performance metrics and effectively forecast expenses for the short and long term. As with the Space Reservation System, we also highly recommend implementation of a robust CAFM system.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated adoption of many long-considered improvements to the workplace experience. These recommendations are based on creating and maintaining a safe, flexible, and effective hybrid Workplace of the Future.

Notes: 1. The Business Case for Remote Work for Employers, Employees, the Environment, and Society, Kate Lister, Global Workplace Analytics and Design Public Group, 2021 2. State of Remote Work, Owl labs and Global Workplace Analytics, 2020 3. Social Isolation and the Coronavirus: 8 Surprising Reasons You’ll be Thrilled to get Back to Your Office., Tract Brower, Forbes; April 15, 2021 4. Global Cost Trends Guide, CBRE, 2020-2021 5. The Hybrid Future of Work, Gensler, US Workplace Survey Summer / Fall 2020 6. Global Work-From-Home Experience Survey, Isometrics and Global Workplace Analytics, May 2020 7. How Smart is your Office? Sue Weekes, Smart Cities World Research Report and Signify, February 2021 8. Workspace Reworked: Ride the wave of Tech Driven Change, JonesLangLaSalle and Unwork.com, 2020 Authors: Dara Baldridge, IIDA, LEED AP | Senior Interior Designer - Workplace Lisa Cameron Gulley | Senior Designer - Educational Planning Regan Henry | PhD, RA, LEED AP, LSSBB | Architect - Evidence-Based Design/Research Greg Otis, AIA | Senior Vice President - Strategic Planning

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