On this week’s We’re Still Here podcast host Emily Wright and EG reporter Lucy Alderson are joined by workplace expert Neil Usher, as we start to think seriously about a return to the office.
The good news according to Usher – Sky’s former workplace director now heading up partnerships at GoSpace AI – is that the path ahead is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A chance for companies to reset as they consider a strategy for a return to work that takes into consideration more than just the workplace itself. This, says Usher, is the easy part as firms will have to focus more on the wider structure around work, from commuting to office hours and staff volumes on a daily basis.
He warns, however, that most people will get it wrong in the first instance. No one knows what the post-pandemic world will look like and making office space work for the future will be akin to “a perpetual experiment”. He adds that one thing is for sure – it will be less about aesthetic than people might expect.
“People are trying to envisage what this future space will look like,” he says. “It is more about answering a big question. What is the workplace actually for?”
For Usher’s thoughts on an answer to this question, plus a round-up of the biggest EG news stories this week from Lucy Alderson, tune in to hear more.
To send feedback, e-mail emily.wright@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmilyW_9 or @estatesgazette
