Doug Shapiro and Future of the Workplace Design

One of the lessons of the pandemic is raising the relevance of the workplace as a physical location in which people come together to accomplish their tasks. There are numerous stories of empty locations and attempts by employers to bring people back. Some of these attempts involve enticements, while others involve threats. Both speak to the growing question of what does the workplace provide to us that we cannot get working at home? And how might we design workplaces that people want to be at?

To create a better workplace, the workplace designer has to embrace the experience design mindset. Workplaces are not just about utility, but about the experiences they provide and the vision they represent. The cubicle farm of some workplaces tells you what is thought of workers, especially one devoid of life, growth, and hope. We form an emotional attachment to the work spaces that we inhabit. Whether it’s a home office, a cozy corner of the library, or a bustling cubicle in a bustling office, our work spaces become an extension of ourselves. We come to rely on their familiarity, the way that the light cascades through the window or the smell of the coffee machine in the break room. It’s not just the physical attributes of our work spaces, though; there’s an emotional attachment that develops, too. Space and place come to mean something.

Today on Experience by Design, we are pleased to welcome Doug Shapiro, of Imagine a Place Podcast and Vice President of Research and Insights at OFS Furniture. Doug talks to us about how we need to develop more creativity as a society in order to face the challenges that we have in front of us. Creativity is not just the future of work, but the future of our world. He describes the strong connection between place, health, and productivity. We dig into how the design of an environment has to reflect the different types of people that exist in that place, and speak to them all in their own way.

The workplace needs to be different in order to support what is important to do in person, namely connect, laugh, and create new ideas. As plants need sunlight to grow, so do we. And beyond that, we need a fertile environment in which we feel cared for, nurtured, and welcome. Ultimately, we need to think about the soul of the workplace, and how to create one that creates a culture that supports the flourishing of those who work there.

And also how laughter might be the best metric of success of all, and how a closet full of wigs might be the key to changing corporate culture.