| | September 2021MANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM8In MyOpinionWorking from the office is no longer an expectation ­ it is a choice. As many of us prepare for re-entry to the workplace, this new perspective on choice presents us with an important question. Assuming our offices have been made safe enough for our return, the question will each be facingis no longer "should we go into the office to work" ­ but rather "will the office help us do our best work?A New Mission for the WorkplaceCreating a work experience that allows us to be at our best is the new mission of the workplace. Solving for that goal requires not just great physical work environments (both at home and at the office) it also requires new ways of leading our teams. We must adopt and promote greater independence and self-direction, and afford our employees increased trust and autonomy. Offering these kinds of work experiences requires an interrelated effort from HR leaders, facilities and real estate teams, individual managers and their direct reports. This is especially true as the workplace evolves into an ecosystem of widely varied work locations and modes. An Ecosystem of WorkWith millions of people currently working from home, we find ourselves on the verge of something Liquidspace founder Mark Gilbreth calls "The Great Migration." Mark's view on our collective re-entry to the workplace is shaped by a belief in the need for short term, flexible office spaces that are smarter, smaller and more locally distributed. He is describing a new ecosystem of work supported by "satellite," "hub," or "outpost" locations as an extension of our traditional offices. Situated far from urban centers these workplaces offer an appealing option, in Mark's words, "For workers looking for an experience that augments their home working environment ­ and for organizational leaders looking to augment their HQ."The move to suburban expansions or new forms of distributed working present novel challenges for leaders. Who and what is now driving our link to organizational mission, values, and purpose? How do we measure performance, productivity, and potential for people that we no longer see each day? These are just a few of the cultural shifts that organizations need to be prepared to address as our relationship with our places of work begins to change.A New Relationship with the Ways and Places of WorkPrior to the global pandemic One Workplace was struggling with similar questions. Rapid growth and the need for greater flexibility drove our organization to establish a new relationship with the ways and places of our work. The physical result was to create a network of workplace destinations. A suite of experiences provided to each team member in exchange for giving up an By Christopher Good , Creative Director, One WorkplaceFOUR PRINCIPLES FOR THE RETURN TO THE OFFICE
< Page 7 | Page 9 >