News & Trends

Making The Workplace Future-Ready

"Only two years ago, Americans commuted to work for an average of 27.6 minutes each way, five days a week." David Joosten of Forbes Magazine reminds us. "Meetings were in physical conference rooms, and if someone had a question, they just walked over to a co-worker’s desk. They also rarely used any teleconferencing tools."

In his piece How to Make The Workplace Future-Ready, Joosten repeats what has become conventional wisdom in corporate America: People don't want to return to the old ways of doing things.

"As we emerge from our pandemic-driven ad hoc offices, most workers don’t want a return to that past with its ever-longer commutes," he says. "Workers want to keep the advantages of the past and the benefits of working from home."

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It's a sustainable model, too. A recent study from Accenture reveals 63% of high-revenue growth companies embrace using a “productivity anywhere” hybrid workforce model. In other words, Joosten point out, winners support mixed work.

"Employees want the workplace to transform," says Joosten. "And businesses will need to prepare for it to attract employees and generate a productive workplace culture."

He lays out several ways to accomplish this:

Workplace Hubs: Transforming Old Offices

To reinvent their offices, businesses must perform an overall workplace tech review. In order to remain competitive, forward-looking businesses must embrace technology and take meaningful steps to ensure equity in their practices.

"While performing the workplace tech review, businesses should ensure inclusivity of all types of physical and neurocognitive disabilities," Joosten believes.

Taking suggestions from managers and employees and experimenting and revising until you get what works is a great way to accomplish this.

Ideally, the new office will become a technology hub where employees can gather for meetings or brainstorming sessions. Technology should allow them to work from anywhere seamlessly. It should be the goal to ensure parity among all workers, whether they work at the hub, at home, or from wherever they are.

A more innovative way of working should be encouraged among employees. To get there, you'll need technology, tools, and stimuli. It's time to let go of the old office and walk away from the past. Creating an inclusive, technically advanced workplace for connection and productivity requires transforming the workplace.