The Future of Workplace Evolution? Leaning Into Lifestyle

This article originally appeared in the August 26 Issue of officeinsight.

Lifestyles, or preferred ways of living, define our days and direct our choices. Like to stay active? You’re probably the proud owner of a bike or running shoes. Lover of the arts? Maybe you signed up for a museum membership. Do your best thinking in silence? You chose a home far away from the fire station. 

In this new era of work, workplaces must be refashioned with lifestyle in mind, from hybrid models to evolving ideas about the function and value of physical offices. The best of these new work environments will be designed to constantly shift and change according to evolving needs and will take their cue more from lifestyle than from work itself.

COVID taught us that scores of workers can perform some work well outside the office, and that employees’ preferred work settings and styles vary widely — some blaze through emails from the sofa or easy chair; others do their best brainstorming from a third place like a café; and some truly do crave the “change of scenery” of a physical workplace, with the option to collaborate in person.

What lifestyles, and work styles, boil down to is flexibility, preference, and desire. Choice. Remote work has given many workers the ability, some for the very first time, to explore and enact their work styles, to find a way of working that fits their preferences and integrates into or reflects their broader lifestyles. Few are keen to give that up, hence the focus on flexibility: One 2023 survey of more than 1,500 U.S. workers found that when U.S. employees were asked to select non-salary aspects of compensation they deemed most important, 65% said workplace flexibility options, including hours and location. 

Our work styles now must fit our lifestyles, and the workplace must become a space employees want to both visit and inhabit, a “destination, not an obligation,” according to my colleagues at Gensler, Global Co-Chairs Diane Hoskins, IIDA, FAIA, and Andy Cohen, IIDA, FAIA. And the way to do that is by reconceiving the office as a site that appeals to multiple preferences and personalities.

Gensler LA office — Gensler recently redesigned a floor of their Los Angeles office. Photo by Ingalls Photography.

One path to achieving a lifestyle- and work style-encompassing office, a place where workers are eager to come and stay awhile, is by designing (or redesigning) workspaces to offer a spectrum of experiences extending beyond the workplace developments we’ve seen in recent decades. Think quiet nooks and rooms for individual, focused work; spaces for small- and large-group meetings and impromptu collaboration; comfortable, hospitality-inspired areas for moments of relaxation, connection, and camaraderie; and seamless technology integration for employees to access tools and remote teams with ease.

Employees have made it clear that they prize flexible work: A 2022 survey of 25,000 Americans conducted by consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that when people are offered the chance to work flexibly, 87 percent take that opportunity. In that survey, flexible work equated to remote work, but it would behoove employers to think about flexibility more broadly — not just in terms of where and when people work, but how. Reconfiguring offices to allow various work modes can enhance productivity, wellness, comfort, and happiness.

At Gensler’s Los Angeles office, we recently redesigned a floor of our workspace, the first of several conversion phases, to respond to employees’ variable and evolving needs. We spent a year listening to our staff and gathering data about their work habits and preferences via employee surveys and focus groups. What we learned: Our people wanted a variety of workplace settings and a sense of autonomy, and an environment that offered the same comforts of home. They sought the ability to customize their in-office experience, hour to hour and day by day, based on their workloads, moods, and objectives.

The redesigned space includes a breadth of distinct settings, including meeting and huddle rooms, focus pods, a reading room, and a living room-like lounge. Furniture includes sit/stand desks, communal worktables, layout counters, mobile whiteboards, soft seating, and islands for material layout and storage. The look and feel are warm, comfortable, and site-specific, with hospitality elements and biophilic design woven throughout, reflecting the informal yet elevated aesthetic of LA. Employees use Calven, a workplace experience platform available as a mobile app, to reserve workspaces, connect with their teams, and keep tabs on what’s happening in the office.

This new, choice-based environment seems to be effective in meeting employee wants and needs; data shows that attendance has risen by 35 percent among Gensler LA teams located on the redesigned floor. Complimentary sodas and snacks may be nice, but the ability to customize one’s experience at work is an invaluable perk — one that could potentially boost employee engagement and retention.

Gensler LA office crop — Gensler’s redesigned floor includes several distinct settings, including meeting and huddle rooms, focus pods, a reading room, and a living room-like lounge. Photo by Ingalls Photography.

No one could have foreseen the radical transformation of our collective relationship to work in recent years, but we do know that our businesses and culture continue to rapidly evolve. While we can’t predict the shape of change, we know more change is coming — to the workplace, and to the world.

IIDA, known for being future-focused, is committed to helping design professionals prepare for whatever lies ahead. Last year’s Industry Roundtable, IIDA’s annual think tank-style event convening design thought leaders, produced intelligent, actionable takeaways about the future of work. And IIDA’s new Certified Design Futurist program, created in collaboration with renowned quantitative futurist Amy Webb, will arm design professionals with evidence-based tools to identify and proactively respond to plausible futures.

Here’s one certainty in an uncertain world: Employees are people, and people change. Lifestyles and preferred modes of working can and will shift, but if workplaces are built with flexibility, convenience, and comfort at their core, employees will keep choosing to come back.

Gensler’s Bill Bouchey, FIIDA, ASID, has more than 30 years of experience and is an exceptional design leader in all areas of commercial interior design. An award-winning and published designer, Bouchey is passionate about collaborating, visioning, conceptualizing, and storytelling to create an enhanced human-centric experience. He pushes the envelope at the inception of the creative process, seeking out new imagery and ideas that enhance a client’s culture, brand, and future-proof ability. His design sense is driven by the belief that interior design empowers people and transforms organizations. He currently serves on the IIDA International Board of Directors as a Vice President.

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