The social infrastructure of the office underscores new research-driven analysis that measures shifts in employee sentiment post-pandemic. HqO, a workplace experience platform, released its 2023 The State of Workplace Experience report, detailing emerging trends.
Proprietary data from research firms Gartner and Leesman, a newly acquired HqO company, includes close to 300,000 responses from global office workers, alongside 200 industry researchers, commercial real estate CFOs and finance leaders. The data also serves as a guide for workplace experience tools, as an increasing number of CFOs are planning to boost technology spending this year.
Key highlights reveal that from before the start of the pandemic to 2021-22, 20 per cent more respondents prioritized informal social interactions. No other workplace activity had a greater increase.
Planned meetings also saw an uptick in importance, yet 40 per cent of employees revealed they are not satisfied with the meeting rooms at their offices. Another 45 per cent feel the same way about room and desk booking systems.
Almost three-quarters of employees rated “meeting rooms (small)” as an important office amenity, which means small meeting rooms are still more important to employees than other key physical features like temperature control, noise levels, and office lighting, all of which ranked lower in importance. Small meeting rooms figured as the third most important physical feature of the office.
“Other person-to-person activities like “collaborating on focused work”, “informal, unplanned meetings”, and “learning from others” also increased in importance after the start of the pandemic,” says Chase Garabarino, CEO and co-founder of HqO. He adds this data indicates that “strong workplaces need strong workplace connections,” more than ever now.
As organizations figure out how to entice workers back to the office, other key findings serve to guide facility management professionals and the c-suite who might be wary of their office building’s fate.
“The importance of parking facilities was over 5 per cent higher in 2021-2022 than it was before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Garabarino. “However, other service features and amenities like telephone equipment, restaurants and cafeterias, and hospitality services became significantly less important over the same period. In 2023, office space isn’t being used less — it’s just being used differently.”
Traditional office activities like telephone and private conversations and confidential business discussions showed declining importance among respondents as remote settings become easier spaces to conduct private work activities outside the corporate office. This underscores how employees are viewing the office as not just a place for doing business, but for connectivity.
Access to technological tools that make hybrid work possible has increased in importance as well. Mobile computing equipment (e.g. laptop or tablet) increased the most at 8 per cent, followed by IT help, and access to remote work files or networks.
CRE professionals, property teams, and employers will need to optimize their workplaces with this in mind. Many are improving their experience strategies, but the latest research from Leesman reveals much work ahead, specifically around creating and preserving a sense of community as 31 per cent of employees do not think that their workplace reflects these values. Meanwhile, 25 per cent feel they cannot share ideas and knowledge among colleagues within their workplace, while 30 per cent feel their office setting isn’t conducive for productivity.
“This presents a problem for today’s employers and corporate real estate leaders, who need to do all they can to attract and retain tenants and employees in a challenging market,” the report states.
Knowledge sharing could involve informal social connections and technology to bridge the gap between hybrid-remote and in-person workers. Supporting productive work environments requires access to office spaces, adding new technology, and improving workplace connections, as well as gathering employee sentiment data proactively, on an ongoing basis, and using it to meet their employees’ evolving needs.
Future Predictions
The report also forecasts trends over the next three years based on combined data from Gartner and Leesman. Looking at its latest research, HqO found a growing number of corporate real estate leaders have started to ensemble workplace experience teams. By 2024, “organizations with a persistent cross-functional team tasked with workplace experience strategy will be 80% more likely to have high employee satisfaction with the workplace.”
By 2025, less than 5 per cent of desk workers will prefer to work from a corporate workplace full-time, down from 17 per cent in 2021, while corporate workspace allocation will flip from 70 per cent individual workstations and 30 per cent collaborative space to 30 per cent individual and 70 per cent collaborative space.
By 2027, the data suggests 80 per cent of millennial workers will prefer to spend their time in various workplaces rather than full-time remote or full-time work from the office, up from 61 per cent in 2021. As the needs of hybrid workers are personal and “highly susceptible to change,” industry leaders could reevaluate their understanding of employee needs, behaviours, and preferences.
The full report, The State of Workplace Experience 2023, can be accessed here.
