How can office owners and occupiers create experiences that inspire, engage and energise everyone? This was the question the Property Council’s NSW Commercial Office Committee pondered recently. The answer, they discovered, is in responding to the eight archetypes that represent most office workers.
More than 30 landlords and large commercial tenants, designers and developers gathered virtually in late January to tease out the types of workers now emerging and the strategies that could help them ‘be their best’ in the workplace.
While workplaces are still in a state of flux, we do know the hybrid world of work is here and people are looking for an experience that is tailored to their workstyles and lifestyles. One size no longer fits all.
The group established eight ‘archetypes’ that, while not exhaustive, represent the majority of office workers. So, what are these archetypes and how can the workplace evolve to appeal to each?
- Leading Leaders: These executives and people managers want to lead by example to encourage their teams to use the workplace to collaborate and connect. Leading Leaders are looking for levers to bring their people together – from spectacular spaces to rich face-to-face events and learning opportunities. They know the office is the best place to innovate, co-create and incubate new starters, especially younger employees who learn best through observation and osmosis. Leading Leaders are champions of the workplace, but they must also recognise that life in the workplace won’t ever return to 2019. Employees want more freedom and choice, and Leading Leaders must acknowledge those desires to create a workplace experience that inspires and energises. While Leading Leaders are thinking about the big picture, they also appreciate tools and services to make their working day easier, whether that’s collaboration spaces and booking systems, concierge services or easy access to transport, bike racks or early bird parking.
- Hyper Hybrids: These flexible folk are looking to make the most of every moment. With no set schedule, they will often choose their setting at the last minute depending on family commitments, client meetings or even the weather. Convenience is a priority for Hyper Hybrids. They appreciate technology that helps them order their morning coffee in a few clicks, lockers so they can store their gym gear and common space that make casual catchups with colleagues a breeze. They want to know, when they land at their desks, the right people will be there – and they are frustrated when they turn up for an in-person meeting only to discover everyone else is virtual. Hyper Hybrids love the idea of ‘glue days’ that bring the team together and wellness offerings that can only be experienced in the workplace. Hyper Hybrids want an amazing experience when they head to the office – not just at their desk but across an entire precinct. Consider healthy incentives like gyms, open air floors and wellness offerings, scheduled social interaction from breakfast choices to five o’clock drinks and family-friendly features like in-house childcare and pet-friendly policies.
- Mid Weekers: These people like to ‘batch’ their office days and routinely show up each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This predictability is driven by personal commitments. Mid Weekers love their new work/balance but hate being the only person in the workplace. They value the water-cooler chats and appreciate ‘glue days’ that binds their team together or the occasional social drinks on a Thursday night. But they don’t need five days a week in the office to get their social fix. Mid Weekers are looking for both personalisation and permanency; they want to know where they’ll sit and who will be nearby. Precinct deals, early bird parking or the odd leadership meeting on a Monday may motivate the Mid Weekers to move outside their comfort zones.
- Split Shifters: They may come in at 10am after doing the school drop offs, dodging the peak hour commute, or work from home in the morning to take the dog for a walk at lunchtime before heading into their workplace in the afternoon and into the evening. Whatever their choice, these people appreciate the new flexibility in their lives,. These workers recognise that their preferred style creates collaboration, logistics and, sometimes, perception problems. A flexibility-first and positive workplace culture, with spaces and services such as late opening cafés or late bird parking that support people to do their best work when they’re in the workplace, will keep them motivated and moving towards their team’s collective goals.
- Five Day Fans: These workers want or need to work five days in the office. Their job or home life may mean they need to be ‘in’, not out. They may not have the right set up at home for peak productivity and performance. Or perhaps they are new starters wanting to soak up the culture, mentoring and osmosis learning that is only found in the workplace. Regardless of their reason, these people want predictable office patterns so they can plan for their week. Digital diaries, permanent desks and a variety of work settings appeals to this worker, while a full suite of wellness options makes them feel like they matter.
- Serial Socialisers: These workers see the office as their social outlet. They love a coffee catch ups and lunches with their team, and are always the first to stick around in the city after work for drinks. They don’t need to be sold on the importance of the CBD – the city is their favourite place for shopping, wining and dining. These people want to be “in the room where it happened”, so a schedule of regular events – whether in the building or precinct – will reel them in every time.
- Remote Wrestlers: Rarely in the office before the pandemic, these people may have a second home base or have made a semi sea or tree change. Their visit might only be quarterly or even yearly, but when they do turn up in town they enjoy catching up with colleagues and appreciate the office vibe. Organisations need the right levers, systems and policies – encompassing everything from travel expenses to workplace health and safety – to support this growing cohort.
- Side Hustlers: Whether a contractor, consultant or a part-time worker with another gig on the go, Side Hustlers often have multiple locations and ways of working to contend with, but they often need to be face-to-face to step up the pace. They like technology that makes access easy, whether that’s booking a meeting room or checking where colleagues are located. Operating across multiple workplaces and organisations, the Side Hustlers can tell you who is getting things right and wrong when it comes to hybrid work.
While there are countless sub-types, these eight archetypes illustrate an important point: we now have a clash of competing work styles in the same space. While this multitude of worker types has always existed, the flexibility free-for-all has amplified it 100-fold and we now need to accommodate many different styles. Business leaders must manage a range of working styles and a mismatch of priorities.
How do we design better office experiences that respond to the specific needs of each archetype, while also creating a harmonious environment for everyone?
Whether you are returning your people to the workplace, redesigning space, rethinking your precinct, offering incentives or lobbying government, our brains trust had some big ideas to consider…
- Back to basics: Start with the basics that Australia’s property industry already does so well, like high quality indoor environments with fresh air, natural light and lots of greenery. Share the benefits of these biophilic spaces so workers can understand why their office feels so good.
- Amp up the experiences: Curate a ‘branded’ workplace experience where inspiring design, wellbeing offerings and human connection are front-and-centre. Create reasons for people to choose the office: group learning, mentoring, coaching, events, activations and more.
- Trial technology: Turn to digital diaries, intelligent space systems and mobile apps to smooth out the bump in the working week and create opportunities for collaboration and co-creation. One of the biggest pain points for workers is feeling like they’re wasting their day when they turn up to a half-empty workplace, but this is an easy fix with the right tools.
- Offer suitable spaces: Create hackable spaces that accommodate a range of work styles, preferences and tasks, and can be easily adapted as needs and moods change.
- Communicate the value of collaboration: Work together to understand and articulate the value of ‘we’ versus ‘me’ – because the office is the best place to transform individuals into teams.
As the Property Council engages its members and the wider industry in an ongoing conversation about the future of work, these archetypes can help us create magnets that draw people back to their offices and connect with their CBD in new ways.
“We don’t have all the solutions yet,” says Property Council deputy executive director in New South Wales, Lauren Conceicao. “Some of the big picture trends – from the changing pattern of public transport use to the reorientation of our CBDs – are still coming into focus.”
But the Property Council’s NSW Commercial Office Committee believes many of the problems we face now will evaporate with time. Other permanent changes demand a new level of collaboration between proactive landlords and tenants, and creative solutions to reactivate precincts and repurpose space.
“One size may not fit all, but by working together we can create places where everyone belongs.”