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Bosses have tried everything to convince staff they\u2019ll be happier working in the office than at home, from free lunches to subsidized commutes. When that hasn\u2019t worked, they\u2019ve tried putting their foot down.<\/p>\n
Now, exasperated employers want to know what makes their workers tick.<\/p>\n
Neil Murray, CEO of Work Dynamics at real estate services group Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), indicated businesses were examining every angle of a worker\u2019s brain to find the right formula to get them back to the office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most bosses want workers back under their noses, at least in a hybrid model, but are struggling with resistance from employees who have grown used to flexibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s unit consults significant corporations on their real estate footprint, covering everything from a space\u2019s sustainability to workers\u2019 interactions with that space. The latter is becoming increasingly crucial to businesses before they shell out a fortune on Grade A office space.<\/p>\n
He describes a new approach to designing these spaces as \u201ca moment in time of reinvention of space\u201d that emphasizes human behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cSociologists, psychologists, anthropologists. You get an input, and everybody has slightly different opinions,\u201d Murray told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n Murray says this way of thinking has shifted drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic, and businesses now need to consider how their office spaces can benefit employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou completely shift that paradigm and think, \u2018Why do I need space in the first place if I can conduct my business virtually? What\u2019s its purpose?\u2019 And then you need those inputs from various people to try and think about the psychology of what\u2019s going to make people comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n The Future of Real Estate<\/em>, a new report from JLL published Thursday, looks at the requirements of corporate office space following the AI revolution. Companies will likely focus more on the social impact of spaces, prioritizing \u201cwellness, hospitality, and entertainment,\u201d the authors say.\u00a0<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean an array of attractive workspace additions, like gyms and cinemas, is the answer to increasing office attendance.<\/p>\n JLL\u2019s Murray says his group has tested every possible amenity that might entice workers back to the office, including free lunches or coffee machines. However, there isn\u2019t a silver bullet.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most attractive amenity to bring people back is other people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Creating an office that brings them together, Murray says, is becoming a generational battle.<\/p>\n The psychological differences between Gen Z workers and their older colleagues are emerging as one of the factors behind a reevaluation of office space. Murray says attending university in a remote setting before graduating into hybrid work has altered young workers\u2019 needs compared with their predecessors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s bound to be some collective psychological differences in that generation in terms of expectations,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n Beyond generational- and incentive-based considerations, Murray says businesses who are taking the stick approach to bringing staff into the office aren\u2019t seeing much success.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ones that try to be prescriptive and try to mandate three days, we\u2019re seeing pretty much exactly the same attendance for the ones that aren\u2019t pushing a mandate, and it\u2019s settling at that just under three days a week.\u201d<\/p>\n Murray says that businesses are typically settling on a three-day hybrid model, adding that younger and later career workers spend more time in the office than mid-career workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking to Fortune <\/em>in February, Murray\u2019s colleague, EMEA CEO Sue Aspey Price, said companies asking staff to come back to the office four days a week were doing so with the expectation they would only return for three days<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aspey Price says this because changes to office space requirements led to a downsizing through the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cIf everybody followed the policies that are being put out there, a lot of companies don\u2019t have anywhere near enough space,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf every working team came in on those days, the chances of them having enough space are almost non-existent.\u201d<\/p>\n Murray thinks offices will see a return of designated workspaces for employees, countering the widespread uptake of hot-desking, even if it means workers alternating days at their desks.<\/p>\n \u201cYou think about the notion of everybody moving toward total unassigned, well where\u2019s the \u2018me\u2019 space in there, and where\u2019s your own personality?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nOffice space<\/h2>\n