Last year, as business leaders got serious about bringing employees back to the office, they dabbled in a variety of strategies to coax employees out of their work-from-home silos. Some companies offered free lunches, while others relaxed expectations about office attire and created more private space for people to put their heads down and work.
But as hybrid work becomes the norm and bosses and employees settle into the RTO stalemate, Tim Lowe, founder and CEO of CIC, which manages more than 1 million employees, says , managers need to think beyond the work-family dichotomy. A square foot coworking space and event space where approximately 2,300 companies and more than 14,000 employees work with membership cards around the world.
“There’s an element that people are looking for, and that’s a third place in the office,” Lowe said. luck.
A term popularized by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, “third place” typically refers to a place of public gathering, such as a coffee shop or bar. Home is the “first place” and work is the second place. As the pandemic dragged on, the idea of third places as a potential work environment became popular, as desk workers sought a middle ground between being stuck at home all day and returning to offices that no longer make sense. became.
But Rowe said managers should not just think about hosting happy hours at the local pub, but also create third places within the office itself as a way to make the workplace meaningful again. I am. Lowe found that by hosting about 1,000 events and gatherings a year in various offices, he was able to bring together different teams of employees and share ideas with people who might not have met otherwise. A recent gathering drew several hundred people and included general networking, an open bar, and several breakout discussions on solar power.
Collaboration has taken a hit with the rise of remote work, but that often doesn’t come naturally in a hybrid world. Bringing social events into the workplace is a way to make a difference, he says. This could include panel discussions with an open bar, a catered lunch while someone presents on a topic not directly related to work, or bringing in guest speakers for conversations where employees can also interact, Rowe said. he says. It means putting productivity on the back burner, even if only temporarily.
“There’s an opportunity to do something that’s a little more connected and a little more inspiring. Those are some of the elements that companies are looking for in so-called community building and culture building,” Lowe says.
According to a CIC survey conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, approximately 90% of employees want some type of in-person office experience. They want the social, collaborative, and community elements that offices are known for promoting. And leaders clearly want people in their offices. Research suggests that face-to-face collaboration produces better innovation results, top behavioral researcher Ben Weber has previously said. luck Bosses should “see the physical office as a management tool,” he said. When it comes to creating a third place in the office, Rowe argues that it is important for innovation and also serves as a rewarding “carrot” in the office, rather than a punitive mandate.
“Most of us have a basic human need for social contact, and if the office environment meets that need, we’re more likely to come to the office,” he says.
Some large companies have been offering employees a “third place” office experience for years. For example, Google hosts the Talks at Google speaker series, where they invite thought leaders, writers, actors, and creators for a type of informal interview. Last year, insurance giant Allstate redesigned 15 of its offices around the world, which the company calls “pods,” to provide quiet spaces to focus on work, open co-working spaces for events, and spaces for employees to socialize and connect. We have a cafe space where you can host events. — a kind of third place in the office.
“We’re trying to create an environment that’s similar to walking into a cafe on the street,” said Bob Toohey, Allstate’s chief human resources officer. luck.
He said the company views the office as a place for its employee community to come together for a variety of reasons, not just for work. “We want to create a flexible environment. We want to create an environment where people can socialize, collaborate, share ideas, and do purposeful work,” he says. Masu.
The company also allocated $10 million to business leaders around the world to come up with creative ways to bring teams and others together in the office. Some companies held watch parties for sporting events, others organized career learning and development sessions for younger colleagues, and still others held Lego building events to encourage strategic thinking.
“When people come together for these events, you see the energy,” Toohey says. He said a recent employee survey found that 90% of Allstate employees feel connected to their team and about 65% feel connected to other teams. say. He says creating a Third Place environment in the office created a sense of connection and allowed employees to return to work in person.
“We want to make it easy for everyone to connect,” Toohey says. “I think we’re on the right path.”