Guest Post by Albert DePlazaola, Senior Principal, Strategy, Americas at Unispace

While the recent headlines surrounding Amazon’s five-day-in-office requirements might have you believe the hybrid work model is dying out, Amazon’s rigid in-person policy is an outlier. According to Unispace’s 2024 Global Workplace Insights Survey, From Restrictions to Resilience, the modern American work experience has evolved since the pandemic, particularly in relation to office utilization and the hybrid work model. Office occupancy has stabilized at around 40-50%, solidifying the shift towards hybrid work, and the data reflects a broad consensus that hybrid work is here to stay.

The great work-from-home experiment of 2020 shattered long-held myths about how and where work “should” happen. What started as a crisis response, served as a catalyst for new thinking and expectations for the workplace. Kitchen tables became workstations, and daily commutes shrank from hours in traffic to steps down the hall. This forced experiment proved what many had suspected: productivity isn’t bound by office walls. Workers thrived in their new-found flexibility, decimating the presenteeism = productivity equivalency. The pandemic, ironically, liberated us from conventional workplace dogma and opened our eyes to what’s possible when we trust people to work differently.

Closing the door on open plan offices

As a result, there’s now strong alignment between employers and employees regarding the state of the workplace, but that alignment points to a shared frustration. Work practices have changed, but many office environments haven’t adapted to fit this new normal. This gap is affecting productivity and innovation: Confidence among employers that their workplaces enable innovation has dropped from 81% in 2023 to 76% this year.

Our survey suggests that office spaces, particularly open-plan layouts, are no longer meeting the needs of modern workers. The open office’s promise of high energy collaboration is now a buzzkill for today’s hybrid workforce. Hybrid workers still struggle against a constant tide of noise and distractions.  Open plan promised the best solution for individual and collaborative work yet delivered neither.

Employees aren’t clamoring for more endless expanses of desks – they’re desperate for high performing, intentional spaces for teaming and personal spaces where they can actually focus on their work. The open office is a contributing factor for employees choosing home offices over corporate workplace chaos. Open office plans, designed to break down barriers, have become barriers themselves.

Collaborative Spaces vs? Individual Spaces? Choose both…

What do today’s employees really want?  The data tells a compelling story: small, enclosed spaces are becoming the MVPs of the modern office, i.e. intimate four-to-five-person huddle rooms with seamless technology and focus spaces where deep work can actually happen. The good news for planners is that these spaces are nearly interchangeable. Day offices and huddle rooms are typically the same size with similar furniture specifications.   Converting their use so they can scale to meet demand may be as easy as changing their designation on a room reservation system.

Attracting office tenants (and employees) with a hybrid-focused design

For landlords and building owners, the survey underscores the importance of rethinking office design to attract tenants. The office is no longer just competing with other offices – it’s competing with the benefits of working from home. Employees need a compelling reason to leave the convenience of working at home and face long commutes. This means landlords must offer more than just amenities like gyms or snack bars. While perks such as free food might attract some, what truly draws people back to the office is the promise of a productive and engaging work environment.

The data shows that employees spend 64% of their time at their desks doing focused work, while they struggle with noise and limited space. To address this, landlords should focus on equipping Class A buildings with world-class technology, inviting team spaces with access to natural light, and ergonomic areas designed for deep, heads-down work. These improvements create a more attractive and functional environment for hybrid workers.

Reflecting culture and values in office design

Another key takeaway is the role of brand identity in drawing employees back to the office. Around 72% of employees said they would be happier to spend more time in the office if it reflected their company’s brand, culture, and values. This underscores the importance of branded common areas that tell the story of the company and create a sense of connection to the organization. Such spaces can offer employees something they can’t get from a home office: a sense of belonging to a larger purpose.

As hybrid work reshapes how we think about the workplace, the message from the survey is clear: one-size-fits-all open layouts just don’t cut it. To address the problem of empty offices, companies and designers need to create magnetic spaces that do double duty – social hubs for teamwork and peaceful sanctuaries for deep focus. The workplace isn’t dead; on the contrary, it’s evolving. Those who listen to what employees need to be productive can transform their offices from high vacancy work zones into bustling ecosystems where hybrid teams actually want to work.

Albert DePlazaola is Senior Principal, Strategy, Americas at Unispace