Future of Work 
Heritage Office Furnishings & Steelcase give Floorspace a behind the scenes look into the WorkBetter Lab pop-up experience in downtown Vancouver.
Everything about work has changed. People are working in new ways, and they are looking for a fundamentally different experience. New expectations and the desire for hybrid work require a better vision for the workplace: building community and fostering a sense of belonging where people and ideas thrive.
The Steelcase + Heritage WorkBetter Lab in Vancouver, at Bentall II Centre, offered thought leaders, architects and designers the opportunity to explore new and innovative hybrid workplace solutions. The experience was comprised of diverse settings designed to support all modes of work, providing people greater control, comfort and privacy – what employees say they desire most out of their workplace now. The Steelcase X Heritage team spent 60 days and over 340+ hours of touring to show Vancouver a physical response to the new requirements of hybrid work.
Hosting the WorkBetter Lab in Vancouver was such a valuable experience. Hosting tours in the space for us reinforced the importance of collaborating and engaging in person, after the past few years working from home. We learned so much while exploring new ways to make the office a destination for employees – we hope that everyone left feeling as optimistic and inspired about the future of work as we did.”
Arfa Akhtar from Heritage Office
Since the pandemic began, ongoing global research gives us a true pulse on what people really need and expect in a new era of hybrid work. The newly released Steelcase Global Report uncovers five things employees need and expect out of the new workplace: belonging, control, productivity, comfort and safety. Offices now need to earn people’s commute by meeting these new set of needs: support hybrid work, establish connections, create a sense of belonging and promote wellbeing — all of which suffered during the pandemic.
To address this, the workplace needs to shift from a focus on standard planning to drawing inspiration from thriving communities made up of a diverse set of neighborhoods. The workplace should create the same energy and connection people feel sitting in a sidewalk cafe or the same level of solitude they experience in their library or the privacy of their own home.
The Vancouver WorkBetter Lab showcased these types of thoughtful neighbourhood settings where people can come together in the workplace to collaborate, innovate and socialize – things we missed most while working from home. Neighbourhoods at work, like the ones people live in, act as a homebase for people and teams to come together. Providing a diverse ecosystem of spaces that support different types of work allows the workplace to become a coveted destination, offering employees an experience they would not have while working at home.
The most popular setting in the WorkBetter Lab was deemed “the Gathering Spot”, which offered employees a more casual, living-room type feel, while still providing the functionality of a traditional meeting room or board room, including integrated hybrid meeting technology, allowing seamless connection to any employees working remotely.
The new era of hybrid work means people will have choices about where to work and the office has to work even harder to attract people and keep them coming back. It’s time to reinvent the workplace to meet people’s new needs and expectations.
For more information about this project, reach out to Mike Meyer or Arfa Akhtar at Heritage Office Furnishings.
