Why Are Tech Companies Opting In For Hybrid Work?

Hybrid work arrangements in the technology sector might be here to stay, but tech companies still value in-person office work.   

Nearly 80% of tech companies encourage their employees to frequently work in the office. That is because these firms — whether their focus is on AI, computer hardware, e-commerce or another facet of technology — prioritize in-person collaboration, company culture and social connection, said Justin Kenyon, JLL technology vertical managing director.

The return-to-office trend is backed up by both statistics and Kenyon’s observations as he regularly visits JLL clients, particularly in Silicon Valley. He has seen San Jose-area traffic roar back from the depths of the pandemic, and clients’ campuses are busier, too.

“It can be difficult to find parking on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays,” he said. “Mondays and Fridays are a little lighter, but I've even started to see an increase on Mondays, too, which I think is pretty telling.”

Work-from-home is hardly going away, he said, but leaders at many companies believe their business models depend on close collaboration that cannot be easily duplicated via Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. And it’s not just the bosses: Employees, too, are recognizing that being physically present is an important element of getting things done, he said.

“There is definitely more of a push towards in-office work across the industry,” Kenyon said. “Some of that is driven by the significant investments that companies have made in offices and real estate with tech-enabled spaces and alluring amenities. But there is also a broad belief that collaboration and productivity gains result from being in the office.”

The key here is to give employees the space to be as productive and collaborative as possible when they show up. At the same time, it is just as important for company leadership to optimize their real estate as they strategically review their portfolios, he added. 

Effective office space utilization, or maximizing the proportion of time that individual seats or collaborative spaces are occupied over a specific time, has become a top priority for many tech companies, ahead of even occupancy and density metrics, Kenyon said. Technology companies are aiming for better utilization rates than other industries, he said.

Kenyon said advantages the tech sector has over other industries is a willingness to experiment and learn from failure, and a focus on developing spaces that reflect workplace culture and values. Evolving arrangements for shared seating areas and collaborative spaces, supplemented by quiet spaces, continue to attract engaged employees in the tech sector as companies embrace denser, amenity-rich workspaces.

“Tech is very big on ‘try, fail, move on,’” Kenyon said. “And this is exciting because we can try something new and go, ‘OK, we learned this works and now we want this part, but we don’t want that.’”

Reliable data is key to learning what works and what doesn’t in a company’s hybrid program. For instance, it can show which teams are coming into the office, and when and how they are using the space. 

“Helping our clients capture and analyze data from disparate systems to make truly informed decisions is an increasing focus for us,” Kenyon said.

Reliable data can help any organization plan better, but Kenyon said it is particularly useful to startups and fast-growing companies. If they have processes in place to collect and make sense of data, they can scale operations much more easily to accommodate growth.

“We have clients who are going through acquisitions, and because of confidence in the data we know exactly where to plug everything in and how the data is going to fit, and we know the data points to ask for,” he said.

In addition to data, experience in crafting the optimal hybrid workspace is also important, which is something that JLL, with its commercial real estate expertise across a range of industry types, can share with its clients, Kenyon said.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution and we are here to support our clients individually,” he said. “As tech businesses right-size, move, or their business strategy changes, we can advise them and say, ‘Hey, if you're thinking about this location here’s the real estate context.’ Because while labor and talent is the most significant expense for any organization, real estate is right behind it.”

Amenities, whether free food or landscaped outdoor meeting spaces, are a popular way to ease people back into the office. But Kenyon said that since these amenities are not new for tech, a landlord or employer needs to understand what is actually important and useful to employees now and outfit spaces accordingly.

“If I put myself in a CRE developer's shoes, I want to make sure that I'm going to invest in only the amenities that add value. And the amenities I've seen resonate for our clients are things like tech-enabled conferencing spaces,” he said.

Today’s office workers also need spaces to accommodate their individual work preferences, whether they are operating in teams or individually at any particular time, Kenyon said.

They also need to feel that their preferences have been heard and considered, which is why older, cubicle-heavy approaches to office design are increasingly obsolete. Thoughtful design is critical as tech companies consider what motivates top talent to commute to the office, Kenyon said.

“We can’t just hand out amenities and hope that we’ve solved our challenge,” he said. “I think what we've found with return-to-office is that trust in leadership is vital. If there's that trust, then you see a greater willingness to be more productive and collaborative. Spaces need to be designed to drive the employee experience and make sure they have what they need to work well.”

This article was produced in collaboration between JLL and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.