What will be important in your future (work)place?

What we knew as normal, back in 2019 is, radically different from what we can expect in the future. When we are allowed back into offices at some point (next year) what do we expect to see from our employers? The workplace that you left, will not be the same when you return. 

As I think about all of the workplaces that I’ve designed there was cool furniture, progressive floor plan layouts, collaboration space, delightful graphics, branding and signage, game rooms, and in some cases, fitness centers and cafes. These were real perks with real recruiting power. In the future workplace do we care about those perks anymore? Do we rather seek out companies who put their employees first during the pandemic? Like Airbnb who showed empathy to its alumni, and like all the manufacturers who converted their production lines to make PPE. I am going to want to know their response during the crisis and the long term plans they have put in place to ensure the safety of their employees. 

What will be important to you in your future workplace? 

The future is ours and always has been ours to design, we just have to change what we had in mind back in 2019…