“Engaging” workplace ecosystem post-pandemic: a real estate industry perspective

Purpose Triggered by the acceleration of hybrid work practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study aims to explore the future development and utilisation of the workplace environment for knowledge-based organisations. It examines whether, and how, the global real estate (workplace) sector has contributed to this transition, with a focus on creating an “engaging” workplace post-pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was carried out to examine future workplace scenarios through in-depth interviews with 11 experts from the global real estate (workplace) sector. All the experts interviewed focused on different aspects of the workplace environment, such as management, design and evaluation. Findings The findings emphasise the need to improve alignment between organisational and workplace industry metrics within broader urban environments to facilitate a successful transition to an “engaging” workplace ecosystem after the pandemic. The study also underscores the importance of wider adoption of workplace certificates and metrics to support these post-pandemic workplace ecosystems. Originality/value This is a relevant and timely study that presents future workplace scenarios projected by leading global real estate sector professionals. The findings obtained through in-depth interviews offer recommendations for organisations considering a permanent shift or transition to hybrid work practices and their monitoring and evaluation.