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V O L . X X V I I I N O. V WO R K P L A C E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N H ybrid work, which wasn't even a phrase two years ago, will be the future of office life going forward. Just as the pandemic changed the world's behavior, it changed the office, perhaps forever. "Going to the workplace has to be a 'want to' — you need a reason to go to work in person. e old workplaces — that's not going to do it. Telling people to go back to sitting in the same cubicle? What's the draw? ere needs to be a draw," says Jeanna Stewart, director of workplace practice at SMRT Architects & Engineers in Portland. "Flexibility needs to go beyond a buzzword. What employers will look like will have to change so they can meet employees where they're at. For some, that means reducing their square footage and having fewer designated spaces for each employee. ere will be a high value on shared space, collabora- tive space, social gathering spaces and fitness spaces," Stewart says. "Employees really are in the driver seat," Stewart says. "ere's an incred- ible number of job changes and job openings. If you're not being flexible with workplace options, you will miss out on people." e office of the future means walking into the office and not going to assigned cubicles, but whatever work space fits your task, Stewart says. Before the pandemic, just 7% of workers nationwide had access to a "flexible workplace" benefit or remote work, according to a report from Pew Research. "Hybrid work is here to stay forever. In general, employees like it. ey want the benefits of both the office and remote," says Catherine Lamson, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at the Portland workers' comp insurer MEMIC Group. When the pandemic hit, all of MEMIC's employees became remote except for about a dozen people who were deemed essential to on-site operations. "Our company is very nimble. We had the technology we needed. People's work stations became their dining room or home office. We never expected we would be doing this 100 weeks later. It is stunning. We're remote in 22 states," Lamson says. "We had planned to come back. But now there's a lot of interest in remote work and hybrid work," Lamson says. "We always had a full house here. But things have changed." MEMIC plans to begin the return to the office on or about April 4, but F O C U S M A R C H 7 , 2 0 2 2 18 P H O T O S / T I M G R E E N WAY Catherine Lamson, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at MEMIC Group, says the workers' comp insurer has employees working remotely from 22 states. At MEMIC, new space allows for dining, meeting and playing pool. Office space redux How the new hybrid workplace is changing business culture B y J e s s i c a H a l l

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