A Revolution In The Workplace

Workplace Revolution : The role of the office in the hybrid world and how it must change to meet new expectations was discussed during the meeting by four speakers: Anna Jarzębska, Psychologist, Career Mentor; Karina Kerja, International Concept Manager Next Office & Workplace Expert at Kinnarps; Jowita Michalska, Founder and President of Digital University and Ula Zając-Pałdyna, HR specialist, founder of the HRnaobcasach.pl blog.

The debate entitled The “Workplace Revolution,” organized by Mindspace, aimed to diagnose the needs and expectations of employees and employers towards the workplace. As a result of many months of remote work only, the hybrid model has gained importance. Despite the many advantages of working from home, employees want to return to their offices because they miss the social aspect of working life. Employers, in turn, struggle with maintaining the corporate culture of a given organization. However, they already understand how important a role in the organization’s life is played by flexibility and trust in employees, which is the absolute basis of remote work.

– The hybrid work model has always been successful, particularly among companies renting flex space, but today it is also popular among companies that have so far preferred traditional offices. The hybrid system offers the possibility to choose the place, time, and method of work and helps to encourage new talents to a given organization and maintain the existing employees who value flexibility. According to the American Harvard Business Review research, frequent personal contacts lead to commitment, mutual support, and better cooperation in teams. It cannot be denied that despite the many advantages of remote work, it is a challenge, among others in the field of maintaining interpersonal contacts and ensuring the well-being of especially those employees, said Efrat Ferguson, Vice President of Marketing, Mindspace, opening the debate.

According to all the speakers, the world of hybrid work will stay with us for a long time, with its entirely new models of work and leadership. In the opinion of Anna, the so-called soft skills (such as the ability to listen to each other and empathy) and working in the hybrid model requires even more significant involvement of superiors towards their employees than before. That is one of the reasons why, according to Ula, before companies decide to return to their offices, they must take care of an adequately planned communication strategy in this regard. The success of any organization depends on its employees; hence their needs and preferences are of great importance.

According to Jowita, in the new, hybrid world, one should act according to the principle of Trust-Agility-Experimentation. It is best to learn to work in such a system through experience, using the comprehensive and generally available technology and IT solutions. Technological progress in recent years has dramatically accelerated and thus changes the work environment and every other area – health, private life, and business.

In turn, according to Karina, the old patterns of workplaces have long lost their importance – today, employers should provide their team with an office that will be oriented not only on amenities and ergonomics but also on flexibility. Organizations should make strategic decisions in this area today because employees will have to be encouraged to return to the office. The office will have a competitive advantage over working at home or in the so-called “Third places.”

All the speakers agreed that the role of offices is constantly evolving. Places that until recently were used only for the performance of official duties must now fulfill many other functions. A modern workspace should be, above all, a place for interaction and inspiration that fosters creativity and helps establish relationships with both clients and the team. According to all participants of the debate, an office is a tool supporting building the corporate culture of companies.

– My observations show that many enterprises want to have a space at their disposal to build the unique character of the organization, which at the same time has a positive impact on the way people work, develop and innovate. From the very beginning, the creators of Mindspace wanted designer and functional interiors and a personalized level of services to foster a strong sense of community, and at the same time to be synonymous with professional and top-quality workspaces. I believe that is why so many companies chose to tie their futures with Mindspace – both before and during the pandemic. A high-quality, well-managed, flexible workplace contributes to creating a consistent and distinct identity for any company– said Michał, Senior Community Manager at Mindspace, moderator of the debate.

The organizer of the debate entitled The “Workplace Revolution” was Mindspace, a global operator of boutique, flexible office spaces for businesses of all sizes, which currently has 32 locations in Europe, the United States, and Israel.

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