Cliché alert: “The world has changed,” “The only constant is change,” and “Can’t live in the past.”

Now that’s out of the way, let’s just say it: There is no magic wand to return office work to the way it was and bring building occupancy back to pre-pandemic levels. Just ain’t gonna happen.

After two pandemic years the office workforce, those that can work from home (WFH) have voted, and USA survey results from WFH Research’s global research (July 2021 and February 2022) looks like this:

• Employees desire about 2.10 WFH days — while employers are planning 0.81 WFH days
• 14.8% of survey respondents would quit or start looking for a WFH job if their employer announced that all employees must return to the worksite 5+ days a week.
• WFH 2-3 days a week is valued as much as 5.96% of a pay raise

Time To Get Going

Even though research will continue into the “what and why” of pandemic workplace changes —  there’s enough understanding today to create the new office workplace; a hybrid of one to two days WFH and the balance in the office. And that cadence will have an infinity of variations to match individual businesses’ cultures and needs.

But that hybrid work still needs office workers back in the office.

So, what’s that mean for building owners, managers, and service suppliers?

Gravitational Workplaces

Simply put, the new workplace should attract office workers back with more than just a “because you have to” rationale.

Gensler’s U.S. Workplace Survey Winter 2021 and other research point to a number of reasons why office workers want to get back inside.

And to that end, all stakeholders in an office building can generate the gravity for an attractive destination — if they want their office spaces more fully populated again.

Here’s my synthesis of the top three reasons why — and a light sprinkling of how building owners, managers, and their service suppliers may help.

Whiteboard Days

In-person collaboration is often cited in research as the number one reason office workers want to get back together inside. Video meetings are fine, for a time, but nothing beats getting hearts and minds together in one room for an all out whiteboard session or two.

Acceptance of the new office normal – beyond hygiene theater and “back to work” plans – starts with ideas before action. And although the following may not be earth-shattering or completely novel, it’s better now to rethink them in permanent terms.

Building Service Suppliers can:

• Adjust disinfecting services to address daily churn in shared work-spaces
• Include visual cues for “just disinfected/just cleaned” to shared work-spaces
• Add touchpoint testing technologies
• Incorporate cleaning reports online, in real-time, & with dynamic data
• Make cleaning activities more visible (fractional Day Cleaning?)
• Reconfigure cleaning services & frequencies to sustainable budgets

Building Owners & Managers can:

• Spend & build out collaborative spaces
• Add common space digital displays to keep office workers informed of their workspace
• Improve HVAC filtration & air flow
• Implement air disinfection & testing technologies
• Add conference room scheduling apps
• Invest in upgraded disinfecting/cleaning services for the long-term to keep office workers coming back

Social Animals

A second reason frequently cited for office workers to return: Socializing with their peers. Pandemic isolation was not easy for workers who had normalized being in their office with others.

Our need to socialize encompasses many aspects, from fostering camaraderie and professional relationships to the fear of missing out (FOMO) on office gossip or politics. Humans are herd animals by nature and miss our pack when separated for years.

Building Service Suppliers can:

• Sponsor and/or co-host on-site, educational brown-bag seminars for office workers
• Donate cleaning/parking/engineering staff time to visibly support on-site events
• Promote on-site events with additional communications to their network
• Encourage on-site employees to attend after-hours and/or lunchtime on-site events as appropriate

Building Owners & Managers can:

• Hold on-site, educational brown-bag seminars for office workers
• Add free training sessions attractive to majority of office workers
• Promote on-site events via digital displays, floor banners, email/portal announcements, etc.
• Include free entertainment events on-site  after-hours, or during lunchtimes (Nordstrom piano players?)
• Invite charitable causes into lobbies to help them extend their outreach to office workers

Right Place, Right Time

Let’s face it, office space in a class A building or high-tech campus is a lot cooler than my home office (I don’t know about yours). Add in a cafeteria, gym, conference or quiet rooms, access to high-end printers, and other tech equipment — those add up to a lot of reasons for workers to return to the office.

Building Service Suppliers can:

• Adjust disinfecting services to address high-daily use of amenities’ space
• Ramp up touchpoint disinfecting, cleaning, & testing technologies
• Include visual cues for “just disinfected/just cleaned”
• Make cleaning activities more visible (fractional Day Cleaning?)
• Reconfigure cleaning services & frequencies to sustainable budgets

Building Owners & Managers can:

• Invest in new amenities and/or upgrade & update existing ones
• Communicate the presence of free (included) amenities to new office workers
• Routinely remind current office workers of building amenities
• Fund upgraded disinfecting/cleaning services of the amenities to keep office workers coming back

Summary: All Oars, Same Direction

Breaking News (not really): Tectonic plates shifted and office workers don’t live in office buildings like they used to.

This means all office building stakeholders (building owners, managers, and their service suppliers) need to collaborate and create gravity that draws office workers back into the shared workplace.

There will be additional costs associated with this pandemic shift but they far outweigh the sunk costs and lost income from obsolete, empty buildings.

“Office 2022: Go With What’s Known” was first published on LinkedIn.