Offices still fail workers on focus, connection, and trust: experts
NEVADA, UNITED STATES — Despite promises of hybrid work and smarter offices, most workplaces still fail their employees in three crucial ways: supporting deep focus, enabling true connection, and building trust.
In a recent episode of The Future of Work Podcast, experts from MillerKnoll, Gensler, and PLASTARC discussed why offices continue to fall short and offered strategies for adapting.
Ryan Anderson, Vice President of Global Research and Insights at MillerKnoll, opened the discussion with a candid truth: digital advances have quietly driven people further apart.
“With technology as the primary enabler of this concept of an atomized individual… they promote, maybe inadvertently, us doing most of the key activities we want to do by ourselves, physically removed from others,” Anderson said.
Collaboration and social interactions that once happened naturally must now be built with intention.
Anderson urged companies to “start designing not just for function, but for relationships.”
He added, “People are voicing a strong need to spend more quality time together… to balance the use of technology with interpersonal experiences… they want to have quality relationships and exist within a broader community at work.”
Experience begins beyond four walls
Janet Pogue McLaurin, Global Director of Workplace Research at Gensler, emphasized that top-performing offices are those designed strategically for performance, rather than just for aesthetics.
“They are better equipped to have some of those confidential conversations, to have places to relax and restore… to do deep concentration better… they also have better work experience,” she explained.
Importantly, she said, workplace experience isn’t confined to the office interior. “Every square foot employees touch affects how the workplace works,” Pogue McLaurin noted.
That includes nearby green spaces, cafes, or even rooftops shared by multiple tenants.
Data and trust: More than just monitoring
Melissa Marsh, Founder and CEO of PLASTARC, warned that many companies use data only to monitor employees, not to enhance their experiences.
“If someone is getting something for the information they’re providing, then it’s going to be worthwhile. And if someone isn’t, there’s going to be a legitimate point of resistance,” Marsh argued.
She challenged leaders to draw inspiration from inviting environments outside the office, such as yoga studios, and create spaces that people actually want to use.
At the core of her perspective is the call for “transparency, intention, and reciprocity” in workplace design and data use.
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