Isolation, control, and surveillance. Not the first three words you want to hear when you think of the workplace. But it’s the image conjured up by dystopian television workplaces like Severance.
As RTO mandates ramp up, the pressure is on for companies to create or update their spaces to empower creativity, build belonging, and allow employees to do their best work. Elizabeth Brink, co-CEO of global architectural firm Gensler, urged leaders to think beyond adherence to their policies and into the 3D world to foster culture at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit on Tuesday. “Organizational culture does not live in a mission statement,” she said. “It lives in the people and the behaviors and the places where they gather.”
Brink urged leaders to rethink conventional talking points around RTO, shifting the question from “How do we convince people to get into the office” to “How do we create places that people want to come into?” Instead of being viewed as a mirror of company culture, she believes that the office itself can be a driver of company culture.
All workplaces need a “heart,” Brink argued: a central place where people naturally gravitate to come together, like a lounge, coffee bar, or other multi-use space. At the same time, work can’t be all heart: spaces should be “balanced ecosystems” that allow employees to focus on deep intense work in private when they need to, as well as collaborate and connect with colleagues.
These office revamps are not just about making the spaces look pretty—employee retention depends on it. Employees with great workplaces are nearly three times as likely to stay with their company, according to Gensler’s latest global workplace survey. About 90% of employees who like their workspace say that they are proud to work for their company, compared to 47% who feel disconnected from their office environment.
“The future of work is not about control or compliance. It’s about creating meaning,” Brink said. “We have the opportunity and responsibility to design for that very human future.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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