- David George
- 4 min read
One of the most common mistakes organizations make is assuming that attendance is something you can enforce. You can certainly mandate presence, and for a short period, people will comply. But compliance isn’t commitment. It doesn’t create energy, connection or performance. It creates quiet resentment and a countdown to the moment people slip back into old patterns.
A workplace built on pressure never sustains momentum. A workplace built on value always does.
The truth is straightforward: people return to offices that help them do better work. They avoid offices that make their work harder. And in a hybrid world where employees now have a genuine alternative, the workplace must justify the commute. It must give people something that cannot be replicated at home.
This is the difference between workplaces that thrive and workplaces that stagnate. One asks, “How do we get people back?” The other asks, “Why would they come in?”
Only the second question leads to progress.
Why mandates don’t change behavior
When leaders lean on mandates, they usually do so out of frustration. Attendance isn’t meeting expectations. Culture feels thin. Collaboration feels remote. And the instinctive solution becomes an instruction rather than an inquiry.
But mandates use the wrong lever. They address the symptom—low attendance—rather than the system that created it. They create short-term spikes and long-term disengagement. And most importantly, they reinforce the idea that the office is a place of obligation rather than a place of value.
People comply with mandates, but they don’t reshape their work around them. They show up physically while mentally remaining elsewhere. They sit in the same meetings they could have joined remotely. They continue to schedule work the same way they do at home. In short, mandates result in presence without purpose.
A workplace without purpose cannot become a magnet.
What magnetic workplaces have in common
Magnetic offices are not flashy, expensive or trendy. They are simply places where the work people need to do is made easier, richer and more enjoyable by being there. They feel intentional rather than incidental.
When people walk into a magnetic workplace, they experience immediacy—conversations happen more naturally, decisions move faster, teams gain alignment, and problems get solved with less effort. Momentum builds through proximity. People leave feeling that the day mattered.
And critically, the workplace removes friction. The basics work. Hybrid meetings aren’t a battle with technology. Quiet spaces are genuinely quiet. Collaboration areas feel like they were designed for collaboration, not improvised. Neighborhoods create predictability. The office feels like a functioning system, not a collection of compromises.
Magnetic workplaces don’t demand enthusiasm. They generate it.
The psychology behind choice
One of the most overlooked elements of hybrid working is the shift in psychology around autonomy. For decades, the workplace was chosen for employees. The decision belonged to the organization. Hybrid flipped that dynamic. Now employees choose where they work based on what feels most productive, supportive and meaningful.
This shift is not about entitlement. It’s about optimization. People want to work well. They want to perform. They want clarity, connection and momentum. They aren’t avoiding the office because they are unwilling to work—they are avoiding offices that don’t help them work effectively.
When the workplace aligns with what people value—connection, collaboration, progress, access to colleagues, visibility, ease—attendance becomes natural. When it doesn’t, people retreat to environments where they have more control.
Choice doesn’t weaken attendance. A poor workplace does.
The importance of predictability
Magnetic workplaces feel predictable. People know when their team will be present. They know where their colleagues sit. They know how hybrid meetings run. They know where to go for focus work and where to go for discussion. They know what kind of day they’ll have before they even arrive.
This kind of predictability doesn’t restrict flexibility; it supports it. People can plan meaningful in-office days because the workplace has a rhythm. When teams establish clear agreements about how they work—how often they meet in person, how they communicate, how they collaborate—attendance becomes structured rather than sporadic. And structured attendance creates connection, which in turn creates engagement.
Predictability doesn’t just improve the workplace. It restores trust in it.
Design as a magnet
The workplace becomes a magnet when it reflects the work people actually do. In hybrid environments, that typically means less emphasis on rows of desks and more emphasis on spaces that naturally draw people into interaction. People need places to gather, discuss, think, create and align. They also need places that protect concentration without isolating them.
Design is more than the aesthetic expression of an office. It is the architecture of behavior. It tells people what the space is for, how it should be used and why being together matters. When the design is right, individuals don’t need to be told to come in—they come because the environment supports their goals better than the alternative.
A well-designed workplace doesn’t convince people. It attracts them.
The turning point for leaders
The organizations that finally crack the attendance challenge are the ones that stop asking, “How do we enforce the policy?” and start asking, “How do we create a workplace people choose?”
A mandate makes people show up. A magnet makes people participate.
The difference is everything.
- Lauren Pollack
- 6 min read
Updated: May 18, 2023
Curious about the trends we are seeing at the start of 2023? Follow us as we dig into five key trends. See the five trends here!
If you are feeling drawn to work outside of your home, you are not alone.
A growing number of employees, who feel supported by their organization with autonomy and choice, feel a natural pull to work outside of their homes. These employees, who have been working remotely, are seeking to complement their home office with new places and people. This could be the company office, a co-working space, or a “Third Space” like a café. Organizations can benefit by leaning into complementary offerings to meet the emerging needs of their workforce.
As employees are expressing a shift in preferences, it is a good opportunity for organizations to reflect on workplace experience and employee resources.
“I’ve been going into the office a few days a week, when I’m not in the office I feel like I lose my edge.”
“This will be a welcome and needed opportunity to get out, be with people, and make work more fun.” -Response to an invitation to join a community co-working meet-up group.
Where employees want to go and if they ultimately choose to go, rely on several factors, including:
Convenience | Long and challenging commutes are cited as a barrier to regular office attendance.
Habit | Remote employees are often out of the habit of including other locations in their work week. Many are unsure how to include commute time on top of a workload that has expanded to include previous time spent in transit.
Relevance | If the office or alternate location does not enhance employees' work activity, provide suitable resources, inspire socialization, or enable serendipitous encounters, there is less incentive to visit regularly.
Invitation | We have learned in client workshops that employees on teams that that have been designated as remote, feel the need to be invited into the office.
Workers are seeking spaces that support their needs. When technology in the home outperforms the workplace- it is hard to make a case for the office.
Connections | At a baseline, reliable WI-FI builds confidence in the ability to maintain productivity outside of the home. Ease of connecting to technology in individual and collaborative spaces is critical to effectiveness.
Seamless Transition | The speed at which employees can find their workspace and get set up in a conference room, is critical to productivity and stress level reduction. Hybrid workers can be delayed by lugging equipment back and forth between work and home, when storage or equipment is not readily available.
Privacy | Having limited access to private spaces is often reported as a deterrent for leaving the home office. Enclosed spaces are key for sensitive conversations and focus work. Having reliable access to spaces that provide audio and/or visual privacy increases psychological safety and confidence in spending the day at an alternate location.
Updated Equipment & Workplace Design | Technology and tools should be aligned with the programs and individual technology used by the organization. Design of collaborative spaces will be most successful if they are optimized for in-person and hybrid interactions. Tools that are readily available and well-maintained build trust between employees and the organization.
Trip Planning | In addition to booking space, employees want to know when other people are going to be in the office and where they are sitting once there. Employees report planning their schedules around team and manager interactions but wanting to know who they can expect to see in the office.
Rebuilding The Habit
Interest in events or alternate work locations does not equal attendance.
Turnout is often disrupted by last minute meetings and the intoxicating draw of daily routines. Prioritizing in-person experiences is enabled by creating buffer time for commutes and setting boundaries around meeting schedules.
“I just got a meeting scheduled for this morning. Don’t think I’ll be able to make it. Next time!”
“I accommodate early meetings by taking them at home, then I get into the swing of my workday and it’s hard to leave.”
In-person experiences with co-workers have the potential to elevate the health of the organization. These types of interactions are particularly valuable for improving connections and relationships, onboarding, early career development, culture, and knowledge exchange.
Learning from others and opportunities to mentor are beneficial to the organization and bolster employee career progression and fulfillment. The serendipitous exchange of knowledge and ideas through unplanned interaction and proximity, at the water cooler and beyond, are unmatched in virtual encounters, especially where psychological safety exists in the workplace. In detriment to culture, visibility bias can become a barrier to growth, without managerial upskilling.
Regardless of whether you have been mandated or inspired to venture out of your home, here are some ideas for adding another place into your workday.
Strategize with your Leader - Work with your leader or yourself to prioritize your workload and create a strategy for making time for transit and socialization.
Couple New Habits with Existing Routines - Tack on an in-person day to a regularly scheduled event or meeting. Perhaps take your weekly stand-up call from the office.
Set a specific goal - Pick a consistent day(s) of the week, pay period, or month to venture out. Repetition supports this practice and can be helped by creating a reoccurring block on your calendar, including commute time.
Coordinate with friends - Having friends at work is good for employees and beneficial to the health of the organization. Coordinating in-person schedules not only with teammates but also friends outside of your direct team, enhances the experience in a place. The benefits of working with people you like will be most impactful when time for lunch or coffee is planned on your calendar.
Co-Working Meet Ups - If working from a "Third space" interests you - Organize a group of co-workers, friends, or neighbors to meet up regularly at a café. Working side by side with people in a new space can reduce the burden of certain tasks.
The sense of community created from in-person activities and post-event engagement, pulls in employees, enhancing likelihood of attending future events, and re-establishing relationships.
From our interviews with clients and industry leaders, we have seen the best results when office attendance is linked to a regularly occurring team ritual. Common work-related rituals include team and all-hands meetings, senior or middle manager workshops, annual holiday/festive type events, and guest speakers.
In two exemplary case studies, the combination of meaningful work-related events, combined with company provided refreshments, two days per week, created a shift in regular weekly attendance, at the time of writing. For one company following this approach, they have seen on average nearly 50% occupancy, at a time when most companies are hovering around 30% occupancy. In-person events are most successful when they are well communicated in advance and again after the event to share images and stories.
Taking Action
Organizations who support employees in creating new location habits, have seen an elevation in employee driven outcomes.
Engaging a skilled workplace strategist and change manager can support employees and organizations in changing processes and habits, reducing barriers to in-person experiences.
Pairing in-person events with existing team rituals and appreciation can help build loyalty and belonging within your company's culture. We have seen success in organizations that engage cross-functional teams in strategy workshops or focus groups which double as team building and a means for innovation.
Creating a strategy for the design of your workplace with a specialist, can ensure your design reflects and enhances work activities, building relevance and encouraging return visits. Providing spaces that support group gathering, collaboration, and team socialization, will support these use cases in which we are seeing a natural pull.
Consider new models of real estate, to include geographically dispersed flex, coworking, or third spaces, to ensure your organization gets the benefits of in-person interaction, in line with the preferences of your employees. By including work opportunities and events in alternate locations as well as the company office, employees can meet each other while making spatial associations with your organization's brand and culture.
Through the use of engagement tools and analytics, workplace specialists can understand the most productive location and collaborative needs of teams, making recommendations for beneficial in-person experiences. Working with a workplace consultant can uncover the needs of your workforce and draw out relevant insights and trends. Understanding this data about your organization can bring closer attunement between your workers and place strategies.
Employees desire a change of scenery, socialization, and resources. Through understanding how this desire appears in your workforce, companies can create a strategy for in-person activities that enhances culture and organizational health.
- Lauren Pollack
- 1 min read
Through our work with wonderful clients and partners across the US, we've noticed common themes emerging in the workplace.
Here is a snapshot of five key trends we are seeing at the start of 2023.
We’ll be sharing articles over the next few weeks to dig deeper into each of the topics.
1 - Let's Go! Decisions Abound. - Organizations are ready to move forward with changes, as opportunities for improvement have become more tangible.
2 - Rationalization Meets Innovation - At the intersection of reducing footprint and flexible work modalities, right-sizing real estate is now an opportunity for business innovation.
3 - Flexibility vs. Flex-washing - While some organizations are committing to flexibility, others are leveraging flexibility as a perk, subject to change.
4 - Working, Together - A growing number of employees, who have autonomy and trust, are interested in working from places other than their homes.
5 - Easing out of Burnout - Through change, many of us are carrying outdated relics. It is time to assess when we do things, how we do things, and why.