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Making Hybrid More Human in 2024

From theory to action — CRE leaders are putting strategies in place to make the workspace a center of collaboration and innovation.

Q1 2024
After two years of finetuning return-to-office (RTO) programs and hybrid work strategies, corporate real estate (CRE) leaders are ready to put their foot on the accelerator and bring these concepts into future-fit realities. This year, 2024 is all about putting plans into action that make the workspace more human and connected. This means getting the most out of the space you have and creating the magnet — not mandate — that draws people to the space and allows them to achieve the connection and productivity they are looking for. It’s time to activate strategies and plans that have been laid the past two years; if pilots and tests were implemented, 2024 is the year to activate them at a larger scale.

Real estate leaders and decision-makers are now tasked with making their portfolios not just operational, but optimally aligned with the evolving needs of the modern workforce and with organizational changes while also meeting sustainability goals. JLL’s 2023 Technology Office Spaces Report details how technology leaders are examining their workspace strategies and adjusting their spaces for the future of work. Tech organizations are balancing flexibility with in-office collaboration and optimizing their portfolios and the spaces they already have to create efficient, enhanced, and sustainable spaces. So, how do you move strategy into action to enhance both efficiency and the human experience?

Beyond Square Footage, It’s About Creating Value
Real estate is among the top three expenses for any business, which means every dollar invested should produce a return. It’s all about what you do with the space you have and making the most of it. That includes creating and prioritizing workspaces that draw the right talent, foster collaboration, and enhance the human experience. Striking the balance between efficiency and experience is paramount.

Business leaders need to be just as engaged as CRE leaders to establish their future ways of working and to determine what’s possible from a workspace perspective. Partnering CRE leaders with HR, IT, and other business leaders to think about how work gets done — even down to the team level — is key to hybrid work success. From those learnings, it can be determined what is needed in the work environment, from types of spaces and tools to the kinds of technology, experiences, services, and programs that will enable a productive and holistic experience.

Tech organizations are balancing flexibility with in-office collaboration and optimizing their portfolios and the spaces they already have to create efficient, enhanced, and sustainable spaces. All of this change requires communication, engagement, and change leadership. A successful hybrid work strategy is destined to fail if it is not successfully articulated to employees and if there isn’t a clear “WIFM” (what’s in it for me). This not only requires the important step of conveying goals and objectives, but also listening and providing opportunities for direct feedback in order to get strategies right.

The goal is clear: to make real estate — a top-tier business expense — work smarter, not harder. The office isn’t just a place to work; it’s a hub of innovation, collaboration, and productivity, meticulously engineered to meet the expectations, demands, and functions of the future workspace.

Humanizing the Workspace Is About Creating Community
The office of 2024 is more than a place of work; it’s a meaningful community hub designed to support the informal, the impromptu, and the structured collaboration that fuels innovation. This year, it’s not just about providing space; it’s about empowering people. Even minimal financial investment can yield significant impact.

To do this, forward thinking companies are humanizing the workspace and creating a sense of community by offering employee-centric solutions that value choice and flexibility. A human-centric workspace should focus on the needs and preferences of a liquid workforce, offering a variety of spaces and locations for on-site and off-site collaboration. This hybrid work model allows employees to maintain the flexibility of remote work established during the pandemic, while also providing access to an office for social interaction, team building, management support, mentoring, and more.

By fostering communication; creating team-building activities and social events; encouraging employee-led initiatives; and investing in employee resource groups, mentorship programs, and wellness initiatives, organizations humanize their spaces. But the space itself also needs to support this; the physical workspace must be designed to include collaborative areas where employees can come together to work, brainstorm, and exchange ideas. These spaces can include open-plan areas, breakout rooms, or collaboration zones that encourage interaction and collaboration — building community.

The office of 2024 is more than a place of work; it’s a meaningful community hub designed to support the informal, the impromptu, and the structured collaboration that fuels innovation. The goal is for workspaces to meet the needs of the people in them and using them. People value real-world human interactions in the office and crave a sense of community and belonging. Building a strong community in the workspace requires ongoing effort and dedication from both employees and leadership. It is essential to prioritize and invest in initiatives that promote connection, collaboration, and a sense of belonging within the organization.

Test, Learn, and Adapt
In 2024, CRE leaders are banishing “analysis paralysis.” The new creed embraces the cycle of innovation as a core operational principle by testing ideas, gathering feedback, and continuing to evolve. This mindset shift is critical in an era where the only constant is change and building agility and resilience into our cultures is critical. By fostering a culture of action, feedback, and iteration, CRE leaders are ensuring that their RTO strategies make it off the page and are successful.

As new hires venture for the first time and teams increase their time in the office, successful CRE leaders are taking nothing for granted. They understand that for many, the office is uncharted territory. That’s why 2024 is seeing a wave of “re-orientation tours,” designed to showcase the office not just as a physical space, but as a support system packed with tools and technologies aimed at making work life seamless, efficient, and enjoyable. This initiative is more than orientation; it’s about opening eyes to possibilities and empowering employees to make the most of their workspace.

Ambassadors and event-planning teams can bring a human touch so that the workspace is used to enhance human interaction and make the office a place where people want to be — creating the magnet that draws people to the space.

The operational optimization now includes a comprehensive look at how work is done, where it is done, and who does it. Moving from Strategy to Action
The transition from hypothesis to experimentation is what defines 2024 as the “year of activation.” Companies are now moving beyond the planning phase, leveraging the lessons learned from the past years of testing and adaptation. This involves not just activating space but activating potential — using technology to unlock new ways of working, collaborating, and creating value.

The operational optimization now includes a comprehensive look at how work is done, where it is done, and who does it. The focus is on creating a flexible, adaptive workspace strategy that can respond to changes quickly and efficiently. By meeting the needs of the people using the workspace, organizations will successfully create a magnet that draws people to the space — making mandates obsolete.

The workspace programs of 2024 are not just about bringing people back to the office; they’re about reimagining what an office is and what it can be. Through a strategic fusion of technology, data, and human-centric design, CRE leaders are crafting spaces that are not only efficient and productive but also vibrant centers of collaboration and innovation. As we navigate this pivotal year, one thing is clear: the future of work isn’t just about where we work, but how we work together.

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