{"id":737773,"date":"2022-06-01T08:50:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T12:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/?p=737773"},"modified":"2023-01-25T01:45:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T06:45:33","slug":"new-hybrid-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/culture-talent\/new-hybrid-neighborhood\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Hybrid Neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite employers’ best efforts to entice everyone back to the office with free snacks and fun events, people are dragging their feet. Their reluctance isn\u2019t about COVID: If you look at the data, far more people have been to a restaurant, movie theater or traveled on an airplane than who\u2019ve gone to the office, according to the Kastle Back to Work Barometer. People\u2019s resistance doesn\u2019t seem to be about flexible work either. Hybrid work has been embraced by 71% of global leaders giving people the option to work two-to-three days from home or other locations.<\/p>\n

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Theories about why they\u2019re hesitant to return to the office range from the dread of wearing work clothes to long commutes. But maybe the most obvious reason is being overlooked: Do people believe anything has really changed if everything looks the same?<\/p>\n

In offices around the world, organizations have adopted hybrid work policies, but haven\u2019t changed their offices to support the new realities of hybrid work.<\/strong> Some say they\u2019re waiting until employees are back in the office to make changes. But hybrid work means people will come and go at different times and, without changes, the office is often likely to feel empty and lack energy. After two years of isolation, who wants that? Hybrid work also means people will spend a lot more time on video calls, and will look for more privacy to meet with remote teammates. Or worse, they\u2019ll do video meetings in the open and become the hybrid version of the office loud talker.<\/p>\n

Hybrid work policies will work better if an organization’s space changes in tandem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The new era of hybrid work means people will have choices about where to work and, in many ways, the office has to work even harder to attract people and keep them coming back. Offices will need to earn people\u2019s commute by meeting a new set of needs: support hybrid work, establish connections, create a sense of belonging and promote wellbeing \u2014 all of which suffered during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

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A New Inspiration<\/h3>\n

This requires a shakeup in thinking about the future of the office. Rather than basing office design on the need to fit more people into less space, the workplace should draw inspiration from a new source that is less about efficiency and more about humanity \u2014 the vibrant communities in which we live. Jane Jacobs, author of \u201cThe Death and Life of Great American Cities,\u201d argued decades ago people need diverse neighborhoods to thrive, where homes, bustling sidewalks, shops, parks and public spaces come together and \u201cexist in extraordinary variety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Neighborhoods?<\/h3>\n

Neighborhoods exude vitality and energy \u2014 nothing is static \u2014 places and activities adapt and change. The neighborhood is where people form relationships, feel a sense of belonging and build trust.<\/p>\n

Today, organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant agrees. \u201cA better vision for a workplace is a community \u2014 a place where people bond around shared values, feel valued as human beings, and have a voice in decisions that affect them,\u201d says Grant. The best neighborhoods are ones that foster inclusion and exude personality, where ideas are born and trends are launched.<\/p>\n

This is what people at work need more than ever before.<\/p>\n

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Building a Neighborhood at Work<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Organizations can create diverse neighborhoods in their workplace as a tangible way to communicate their values and shift their culture. The workplace can create the same energy and connection people feel sitting in a sidewalk cafe or the same level of solitude they experience in their library or the privacy of their own home.<\/p>\n

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Hybrid Needs a Home: Designing Neighborhoods at Work<\/p>\n

EXPLORE HOW TO TO DESIGN SPACES THAT MAKE HYBRID WORK<\/a><\/p>\n

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Neighborhoods at work, like the ones people live in, are a homebase for people and teams, departments or project teams. They include a variety of interconnected spaces that support different types of work, a mixture of uses and the natural flow from one to another. They include:<\/p>\n