Albert De Plazaola is Senior Principal of Global Workplace Strategy at Unispace. With a passion for design strategy, workplace strategy, and change management, he brings design thinking to the business world. Mike Petrusky asks about the opportunity FM and corporate real estate leaders have today to think differently about the workplace and address legacy issues in office design and strategy. They explore the importance of leadership when creating the culture and workspaces that will meet the needs of the hybrid workforce, while also enhancing productivity.
Agenda
- Discussion about the perception paradox and the psychology of resistance in the workplace
- The role of leadership in shaping workplace behaviors and experiences
- The importance of creating workspaces that respond to the needs of a hybrid workforce
What you need to know: Workplace takeaways
Takeaway 1: Transforming the workspaces to meet hybrid workforce needs
The speakers’ discussion delved into the necessity of reimagining the workspace to meet the needs of a hybrid workforce. They agreed that offices must be more than just a space with a series of neighborhood work settings and should instead embody a more dynamic and responsive environment.
Albert de Plaza notes, “There is still an opportunity to think a little bit differently about the workspace and address all those legacy issues we had pre-COVID.” He further states, “I think if you really want to attract the hybrid workforce, and more importantly have that hybrid workforce be very productive in your workspace, you’re going to have to provide spaces that respond to their needs.”
Interestingly, de Plaza points out that the office spaces being built over the past 10 to 15 years may not meet these requirements. He emphasizes, “I don’t think that the spaces that we’ve been building for the last 10 to 15 years actually does that.”
Takeaway 2: The role of leadership in promoting effective workplace behaviors
The discussion highlights the role of effective leadership in promoting desirable behaviors in the workplace. The speakers agree that leaders have a responsibility to display the behaviors they expect of their employees, especially in the context of the evolving hybrid work model.
de Plaza mentions, “If you want your employees not just come into the office, but to behave in a certain way, you have to demonstrate the behavior that they want to mimic or be like.” He further emphasizes that this is particularly relevant today, as many new entrants to the workforce have never worked in an office environment before.
He also adds, “People used to hire me for change management to get people to work more mobily or remotely. And now I’m being hired to do change management to teach people how to work in an office.”
Takeaway 3: The perception paradox of returning to the workplace
Another key topic of discussion was the ‘perception paradox’ of returning to the workplace. A perception paradox was observed when employers expressed a desire for their employees to return to the office, while the employees preferred the freedom and autonomy of working from home.
de Plaza highlights, “What we saw was there was a very significant gap between or among the employers who really wanted to come back into the office and employees who really didn’t.” However, he also notes that this gap has shrunk significantly in recent times due to the establishment of hybrid work policies, suggesting a shift in attitude from both employers and employees.
de Plaza concludes, “Now is an opportunity to sort of rinse ourselves from the idea of having what we call these neighborhoods in which you have open workstations that are flanked by conference rooms and huddle rooms and these little phone booths that people go into to make a phone call and start thinking about, well, what are the spaces that people really like?”
Workplace management insights
- There is an opportunity to rethink workspace design and strategy to address legacy issues that existed pre-COVID.
- The office is competing with the benefits of working from home, not the home office itself. To attract employees back to the office, a compelling offer is needed.
- The perception paradox, where employers want employees to return to the office more than the employees themselves, has shrunk significantly as hybrid work becomes more established.
- New workplace concepts are being explored, including zones for problem-solving, innovation, community, learning, and play.
- The workplace should not be viewed as a series of neighborhood work settings but as spaces that respond to the needs of a hybrid workforce.
Do a deep dive into more workplace insights by exploring all Workplace Innovator podcast episodes.
