The world is going through a “work” identity crisis right now. Most of my close friends and associates have little to no desire to go back to the office and it has nothing to do with them being lazy and wanting to stay at home. They all say they’re ready for work-from-home to end, but the alternative is no better. Go back to an antiquated office that is set up for the work of their parents and grandparents. Landlords and business owners holding leases are still scratching their heads wondering what it is they need to do to get people back into their offices but none of them seem to be listening to their audience.
Threats don’t work, because people quit and move to companies with more flexibility. Higher salaries don’t work because, at a certain level, people favor quality of life over income. A new lunchroom won’t work because NYC has a bevy of incredible food options. (Google “Google”). An exclusive gym for tenants won’t work, and neither will an outdoor roof garden or pet daycare...
While some new office buildings are joining the amenity arms race to attract tenants in an effort to bring them back to work, others are offering free rent incentives. None of these solutions seem to have a silver bullet. Most people feel that their workspace is antiquated and not conducive to building a transparent culture and safe work environment. They see no good reason to spend an hour commuting to an office where they will be holed up in an office cubicle or pit only to have to turn around a few hours later and go home.
I remember being recruited by a new agency whose big pitch to new agents was their free candy and the ping pong table next to the conference room. Believe it or not, this pitch actually worked on helping them recruit new agents, but none had any productivity.
The problem doesn’t lie with the accouterments or lack thereof, and the solution doesn’t lie in putting a band-aid on a rectangular office space and lipstick on the pig. It is far more deeply rooted. Simply put – people like work but they don’t like working in their offices in their current configuration.
Almost all of the NEW office spaces I see (present company of past offices included) have been designed around the CEO whose motivation is unlike any of the other employees. These are the same brands and configurations of offices that our parents and their parents designed, and today’s CEOs continue to make the same mistakes. They all want to emulate Don Draper and the Madison Avenue advertising agencies of the 60’s. Or even worse, some have the look and feel of the law firms of the 80’s.
These office spaces worked back then, but not so much anymore. Younger employees are not interested in being second-class office citizens that are made to feel...well, second-class. There’s something a little demeaning about having to tip-toe past the corner office (which is twice the size of the conference room) so as not to disturb the executive who is hiding behind closed (glass) doors. Some of these executive offices still have secretaries sitting outside their bosses’ private offices waiting to be beckoned to “get someone on the line” or “grab a cup of coffee”. The only difference today is that the executives aren’t drinking whisky and smoking a cigarette, they’re sipping on a smoothie.
Today, employees (or “team members”) are looking for impartiality in the workplace. I haven’t seen this in an office building – yet. Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe captured Modernism that responded to the needs of his clients beautifully and this is exactly what we need today. The next Mies – and a new generation of business owners, developers, and architects who listen to their mass audience and not the decree of the CEO.
SIDEBAR:
Fiona Hill’s new biography “There is Nothing For You Here” is a must-read for anyone looking to be inspired by a woman’s journey through inequality, perseverance, and politics. In fact – it’s a must-read for everyone. It gave me a much deeper insight into the politics and relationship between Russia and the USA at a time when I’m personally looking for some answers.
Let’s do this!
-Shaun