Tech giant Cisco is redesigning its offices specifically with hybrid workers in mind.
Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s executive vice president, says that they’re thinking about the way people treat the office when they do go in as a way to connect with other people rather than focus on the work they could be doing remotely alone.
“People are going to come into the office to engage more with each other rather than going out and getting work done in their cubicle,” said Patel. “We have to reimagine, fundamentally, what the future workspace will look like.”
In the company’s Atlanta and New York City locations, there are now fewer offices, and video in almost every room.
Employees mostly don’t have designated desks, but there are more “huddle spaces” or open areas where small groups can hold meetings. Boardrooms are structured in a “triangular fashion” so that the people working in person can see those calling in remotely.
“If there are five people in a conference room [and] two people are not in the conference room, those two people shouldn’t feel like they’re second-class participants in a meeting,” says Patel. “They should feel like they have an equal seat at the table.”
The company is not mandating that employees return to the office on specific days but gives teams the freedom to decide how they want to work. They strongly encourage employees to come to the office for certain activities, such as for meeting customers.
