As time goes on, it appears that more and more major corporations are embracing the idea of a more flexible workforce.
Just this week, Google informed employees that they will extend their remote working policies until September of 2021. When they do return to the office, the company will experiment with a flexible workweek that allows employees to work from home for part of the week, and come into the office other days.
Google is one of many companies who are shifting to a hybrid arrangement. Dropbox and Nationwide are also preparing to adopt a hybrid setup that is expected to transform the way their offices look.
“They’re going to be doing some of their focus work at home,” said Janet Pogue McLaurin, head of global workplace research at architecture firm Gensler. “And they’re going to be coming into the office to do more of that group work to meet with their teams and connect with each other.”
Office design will never be the same. Instead, Flex Strategy Group founder Cali Williams Yost predicts that “hotel desks” will take over stationary work stations, where employees book their space in advance and clean it off for the next person to use.