The Impasse is Evolving: Employers and Employees Are on the Same Page with Hybrid Work

Amazon’s recent announcement that it expected all workers back in the office five days a week beginning in January 2025 led to an employee backlash, including walkout threats and protests against the mandate.

But according to Unispace’s Global Principal Albert DePlazaola, Amazon is an outlier. “Amazon may have other organizational motives driving its decision,” DePlazaola told Connect CRE. In fact, a just-released report from Unispace, “From Restrictions to Resilience,” presented the following:

• 98% of employers are happy with their current hybrid working arrangement; 90% of employees feel the same

• U.S. employees are in the office 3.8 days per week, a slight increase from 2023

• Employees believe that collaboration and building social connections are great in-office benefits; they also want the opportunity to perform focused work to feel more productive

• 71% of employees said they’d be willing to spend more time in the office if the workplace offered spaces that better connected them to an organization’s brand, culture and values

“Today, amidst constant change, we’ve struck a happy medium,” the report said. “Now is a unique moment when employees and employers are aligned, making it the ideal opportunity to have critical conversations about the future workplace.”

The Need for a Shift

DePlazaola explained that a surprise from the survey was that employers and employees agreed that the current workplace doesn’t support hybrid work efforts. “Work practices and habits have changed, yet workspaces remain open-plan memorials to 9-5 workdays,” DePlazaola commented, adding that middle management still covets those corner offices. “The dissonance here is clear; it’s similar to asking soccer players to play their best game on a softball field,” he said.

The report noted that offices are evolving into “the ultimate hub for connection and alignment.” Furthermore, employees feel more productive working on-site. What’s lacking is diverse, multi-purpose spaces in the office environment.

This doesn’t mean an “open office” environment, either. DePlazaola said that designers and leaders supported the concept of an open office plan because of the belief that it could generate collaboration and individual work. “Ultimately, it didn’t do either very well,” he said. “In all my years in this business, asking employees and leadership what they want, a response I have yet to hear is ‘I love open-plan workstations, give me more of that!’”

The “Perfect” Workspace

The report explained that an effective workplace should balance “concentration and connection.” While the current office does offer that connection, “limited space options, noise and interruptions often disrupt (employee) focus,” the report said.

DePlazaola suggested that hybrid workers need an effective technology structure, good lighting and quiet areas that lend themselves to focused work and privacy. An innovative office should provide multiple furniture and modular solutions catering to various tasks while accommodating working styles.”

Additionally, owners, landlords and employers must attract tenants and employees by walking in their shoes. “Why would an employee spend an hour in traffic, struggle to find parking and arrive at an underwhelming workplace to do the same thing they do at home?” DePlazaola said. The answers to these questions include an ability to collaborate/connect with colleagues and the assurance that employees will be more protective at work than at home.

“For landlords, this typically means Class A buildings that provide world-class technology that works seamlessly,” DePlazaola explained. Such spaces would also offer abundant natural light, outdoor space, and private, ergonomic spaces.

The report also stressed the importance of tailoring workspaces for a multigeneral workforce, a higher degree of flexible scheduling and an emphasis on autonomy. Moving in this direction requires employers to have the right conversations with their workforces to “co-create a resilient workplace that prioritizes flexibility, collaboration and productivity,” the report noted.