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For The Active Performer

Migration SE Sit to Stand Desk

When you've been working from home for a while, it's easy to fall into the habit of sitting in one place all day. Switch up your routine with a sit-to-stand desk like Migration SE. As you change posture throughout the day, Migration SE is quick to keep up and provide ergonomic support at every height. Migration SE is a good fit for a wide range of remote workers and
features two height ranges, starting at 22.6 and adjusting up to 48.7".

For The Modern Designer

Linear LED Task Light by West Elm

Finding the perfect lighting for your many virtual calls and meetings can be a difficult task. Brighten up your WFH space with Linear LED Task Light by West Elm. Uniquely vintage with a modern twist, Linear is a wooden, long-lasting LED office light with a built-in USB port for the illumination and flexibility demanded by the modern home office.

For The Techie

SOTO Wireless Charger

You have more important things to worry about than the scramble to untangle your power cord moments before an upcoming call. Skip the drama and keep your deskspace free from a mess of cords with SOTO Wireless Charger. The cork surface provides a soft landing spot for your phone and is angled to provide visibility at all times. Listen to music, join a call or conveniently check notifications, all while boosting battery life with the SOTO Wireless Charger.

For The Organizer

West Elm WorkGreenpoint Mobile Pedestal

Your desk can add even more stress to your day when it becomes a disorganized moodboard of sticky notes, paperwork and project inspiration. Tame the paper tiger and declutter your workspace with a West Elm Work Greenpoint Mobile Pedestal. Hide important files, supplies and even midday snacks behind the two full depth, natural oak drawers.

For the Visualizer

Verb Whiteboard

Don't let ideation get stuck in a confusing stream of sticky notes. Visualize your thoughts and bring your strategy to life on Verb Whiteboard. With a lifetime warranty on the writing surface and e3 CeramicSteel™ to prevent ghosting, scratching and denting, this double-sided whiteboard is designed to work as hard as you do.

Everyone on the team needs to have a solid understanding of what teammates are working on and how that impacts their individual work so when they come back together they are able to move the project forward. If teams members are not on the same page, they will end up spending more time doing rework, which will impact their speed.

But how can teams doing generative collaboration stay on the same page when they're working remotely? According to Kammer, the first thing they should do for remote collaboration is find digital ways to replicate the analog processes (such as whiteboards and sticky notes) they use when they're working side-by-side. "When it comes to generative work, teams need a digital platform where they can co-create content," explains Kammer. "By leveraging tools like Mural (digital sticky notes you can organize in lists, flowcharts, diagrams, frameworks, methods and drawings to activate and align teams), Google Drive and Microsoft Teams, teams are able to orchestrate their work across the platform and develop a shared mind, a shared historical reference of where they are and where they're going."

John Hamilton, Coalesse design director, understands this is not easy. He has spent most of his career designing new products in collaboration with teammates around the world and exploring how to make diverse locations and time zones into a strength to be leveraged rather than a challenge to overcome. Since 2017, John has been based at Steelcase's Learning and Innovation Center (LINC) in Munich, where he has built a global research and development design team, which has introduced innovative products, like the carbon fiber Less Than Five Chair (which literally weighs less than five pounds and can be easily moved and stacked).


Find Common Language

According to Hamilton, teams need to leverage common tools to make the process more transparent and fluid. The problem, he says, is that individuals are often using a lot of different tools to do their individual work, which they can easily share when they are physically located together. But when they're in different locations, like many people who are working from home during the crisis, the use of different digital tools can lead to confusion, a lack of understanding and ultimately slowed-down processes.

His advice: "You have to find a common language. If we all use the same tools, then we can access them in equal ways and the content becomes egalitarian. And the more egalitarian it becomes, the more we all feel like we can go in and own it and edit it in the same way. It's not leader-led. It's not individually owned. Everyone feels like they can contribute."


"There are a lot of technology tools that can help us. But none of them are perfect and you need to experiment with what combination of tools work best for your team."

Peter Boeckel


Regional Design Manager, Steelcase Asia Pacific For example, Hamilton's team has recently partnered with Autodesk and are using tools that allow one person to be in a 3D model while others can watch and have the ability to comment and even take over and manipulate the object. When you're able to do things like this, says Hamilton, the "barrier of not being next to your content will go away."

Peter Boeckel, manager of the Steelcase Asia Pacific regional design team in Hong Kong knows first hand how important this is. For the past six months his team has been forced to work remotely, first when the Hong Kong protests broke out and then again with the Covid-19 crisis. "Our team works in the abstract and with a lot of assumptions," says Boeckel. "Now that we're working remotely, we have to put a lot of effort into how we document the work, how we share and gather input and how we keep fragile and abstract ideas floating. There are a lot of technology tools that can help us. But none of them are perfect and you need to experiment with what combination of tools work best for your team."

The more teams can become fluent in using shared digital tools to capture and create a visual representation of their thinking, and then manipulate it, the less physical distance will be a barrier to collaboration. But this is not something that comes naturally since people are more accustomed to doing this when sitting next to one another. "Distributed teams will need to get better at digitally capturing their content throughout the process to make it visible to everyone," says Hamilton. "Without doing this, it makes it more difficult for me as a leader to get your mind to a place where I need you to be. When we have something we can reference during our conversation — you can see it, I can see it, we're seeing the same thing and then we talk about it — it makes it more fluid and more natural. This will make the creative process much easier. "


Living on Video

Video is another important tool that can help improve generative collaboration. Today, most web video platforms allow people to see one another as well as share content. When people can see each other, they're able to interpret body language, gestures, expressions and other cues that help you "read the room" and they're less likely to interrupt or speak over one another or multi-task. But it's not without some limitations.

When people can see each other, they're able to interpret body language, gestures, expressions and other cues that help you "read the room" and they're less likely to interrupt or speak over one another or multi-task.

"When you're using these collaborative tools, people are often looking at the content, so it's harder to interpret nonverbal cues which can lead to confusion," says Kammer. "Teams need to learn to enable equal participation, especially of those who are less talkative during the meeting. You need to stop and say, 'Jim, did you want to say something?' because Jim may not know when he can jump in." Kammer suggests using features like the chat function to help make sure everyone can participate fully. "Instead of verbally interrupting, people can use chat to indicate they have questions or need clarification," advises Kammer. "This running dialogue can be monitored by someone who can pull it into the conversation at an appropriate time and make sure everyone is heard."


A lesson from Agile

Kammer also recommends remote teams identify someone who can orchestrate and manage all the different work streams. Many co-located teams do not have this type of role today. Like a scrum master on an agile team, remote teams need someone to keep track of the larger goals to ensure transparency and alignment. "This person will be responsible for knowing what everyone is doing and making sure everyone is working on the right things," she says. "Clearly understanding how my work fits into a larger stream of activities is especially important when people aren't physically connected anymore. Remote work requires a lot more formalization of what would be more informal in the office."


Find Your Community

Work is an incredibly social activity. But working remotely can lead to isolation and the feeling of being disconnected, which can hurt collaboration. "The energy and dynamic nature when people are next to each other can really be contagious and make a generative session really powerful when people are physically connected," says Hamilton. "Now, we have to find that while we're distributed." Some ideas for staying connected: Schedule "Social Hours" where you don't discuss work, log into video to have a consistent 'wormhole' of connecting with each other even if everyone is doing individual work, do a pulse check at the beginning of your daily standup for a few minutes to see how people are feeling. Increase rituals that would be almost common in the office and then duplicate them virtually.

"Find your community, your tribe, your people, and make sure you stay connected," says Hamilton. "Share as much as you can so you can also receive as much as you want. The more you give, the more you get. Who do you look to or what ways can you find others that are doing similar things that you can share and build on and feel connected to a greater purpose? I think staying curious and staying connected to the things you're working on or believe in and finding groups that you can connect with digitally can be very rich."

Mistake #1: Treating talent as transactional
Harvard Business Review reports, "It's critical that company leaders work to rebuild and maintain trusting relationships — with and among their employees. Those that don't risk… increased attrition, lower productivity and stalled innovation." People want to feel like they belong, feel valued and have a sense of work-life balance.

Surprisingly, the ability to work remotely or inadequate compensation rank as less important in a recent McKinsey study. That's not to say people don't want flexibility or to make more money. But focusing the effort to attract and retain talent on pay and remote work policies creates a transactional relationship. Leaders don't realize how important the workplace is.

When Steelcase researchers compared factors like income, commute, tenure and allowing hybrid work, they were surprised to find:

The most important driver for employee engagement, productivity and feeling connected to the culture is whether people like working from their office.

When it comes to talent retention, only tenure ranks higher than if people like working from the office.

People who like working from their office are:
33% - more engaged
30% - more connected to culture
9% - more productive
22% - less likely to leave

«ottom Line: Whether or not people like their office matters – and in ways many leaders don't realize. People who like working from their office are significantly more engaged and connected to their company's culture, less likely to leave and moderately more productive.


To explore more and see findings from all 11 countries studied.
DOWNLOAD THE STEELCASE GLOBAL REPORT



Mistake #2: Changing policy, not place
By adopting hybrid work models and transitioning to more unassigned spaces, organizations are creating a new group of workplace nomads. People without a real home in the office. While it may save real estate costs, leaders need to also address the loneliness and isolation people have felt for the past two years. Hybrid work requires new ways of working and employee expectations have changed – the old office can't solve for these new needs.

Why People Might Like Working From Home More
At Home 70% have a private office or dedicated work zone
In the Office 51% work in the open plan

Not surprisingly, when people work in the office they're more likely to sit in the open, where co-workers might be even more distracting than the kids or the dog. It's also not surprising, based on existing office layout paradigms, that more individual contributors (57%) than leaders (37%) sit in the open. This difference in the level of control people have over their privacy at home compared to the office can contribute to why some people prefer the dining room table.

Yet, right now, people at all organizations report losing assigned spaces.
In All Organizations -10%
In Large Organizations*-15%
*10,000+ employees

Bottom Line: The workplace needs to change to accommodate new behaviors and work patterns and do a better job drawing people in and creating an engaging culture. Offering people a destination — such as a team neighborhood — can give them a sense of belonging, a comfortable, familiar place to find their teammates and feel at home. Having the ability to reserve a workspace can help people know what to expect when they arrive at the office if spaces are not assigned. Depending on an organization's goals, understanding what pulls people into the office can allow leaders to align hybrid work policies with real estate strategy. For example, instead of assigning offices or workspace based on hierarchy, assign them based on how often people are in the office.


Mistake #3: Missing the Point – People Want Control + Belonging
Leaders are focused on creating more flexible policies, but hybrid models alone do not address other important factors like a desire for control, a sense of belonging and a need for privacy. It was surprising to see just how strongly many people feel about having some level of ownership over their space at work.

People are more likely to choose an assigned workspace over more remote work.
55% Assigned workspace + WFH ≤ 2 days a week
45% No assigned workspace + WFH ≥ 3 days a week

Of the 11 countries surveyed (download full report), only Australia, Canada and the UK buck this trend and would prefer more flexibility over an assigned workspace. There is clearly a tension between people saying they want to work from home and they also want an assigned space within the office and it's an indicator of how important it is to have a feeling of control over their work experience.
Bottom Line: Many leaders are shifting to hybrid work models with good intentions — to give people greater autonomy and control over their work-life. But hybrid policies alone will not address the control and sense of belonging people are seeking. They want a destination and a place to call home at work.


Mistake #4: Forgetting About Focus
New hybrid work habits mean people are spending more time on video — alone and with teammates. In fact, people say hybrid collaboration is related to the top two needs in the office more important now than pre-pandemic. But, collaboration isn't the only need in the office. So while some are considering a "collaboration-only" workplace, if leaders intend to entice people back to the office, people also need access to private spaces. Without options for privacy, the workplace won't address how work really gets done. People who make the commute into the office are unlikely to collaborate all day long. Three of the top four elements people value more now relate to access to private spaces.


What People Value More in the Office Now
64% – Hybrid collaboration spaces
62% – Single-person enclaves for hybrid meetings
61% – Privacy
58% – Workspaces with full or partial enclosure
57% – Reservable workspaces
52% – Flexible furniture
52% – Informal spaces to connect with colleagues
49% – Large number of collaborative spaces
47% – Sustainable office furniture.


Bottom Line: It's time to redefine "ownership" and offer people options for privacy whether they have a private office or not. In many ways our definition of "ownership" is already shifting. We're comfortable "owning" someone else's house when we use Airbnb, for example. Giving people more options for the office privacy they crave can mean a lot of things — private offices, workspaces with enclosures that provide visual privacy or reservable enclaves or workspaces.


Mistake #5: The Boss Bias
Earlier research found leaders have better spaces when working-from-home and this latest round of research found leaders who have returned to the office have better experiences as well. While their role may demand a different type of space, it's important that leaders not let their own positive experience cloud their empathy for the realities of what many office workers experience.

Who Likes Working From Their Office More?
Employees - 56%
Leaders - 79%

It's not surprising that leaders prefer the office given their access to privacy. Despite leaders spending less time on focus work (31%) than their employees (51%), they are much more likely to have a private office.

Who Is More Likely to Have a Private Office?
Employees - 19%
Leaders - 49%

Bottom Line: Employees have a stronger voice than ever. Leaders have to consider how employees' needs are being met, especially for those who are returning to the office after an extended time away, and recognize that leaders' experiences likely don't match the majority of their employees. Leaders should consider changes to the workplace to support a larger group of employees.
Find out more and see the country-by-country breakdown of our research and new solutions for how to create a compelling workplace for this new era of hybrid work.

Our experts:

• Rob Curtin, Director Higher Education, Microsoft Worldwide Education Industry
• Tim Elms, Director, Steelcase Learning
• Julie Anne Johnston, Director of Learning Spaces, Indiana University

Katie Pace: How are you handling learning right now — in-person, virtual or hybrid?

Julie Anne Johnston: Our students are back on campus, but it's a new environment. Classrooms need to be more high-flex. And we're also looking at our new normal, which is 49,992 students taking one or more classes online. That's 55% of IU students — very different from before.

Rob Curtin: I'm hearing from universities and organizations around the world that everybody's connected to choice. The traditional walls of resistance have been blown away by the pandemic. I like coming to the office, just as so many students and faculty value the campus experience. But individuals are diverse. We fall on a spectrum of lifestyles, life stages, and even learning styles. We have shown we can accommodate remote workers, and remote learners. That's the new standard and we aren't going back.

Tim Elms: One common thread across education and the corporate world is that people are now intentionally bringing remote participants into the physical space. People need to be seen and heard. They need to follow the action, whether they're in a classroom or a meeting. As simple as it sounds, a lot needs to change to accommodate that.

KP: How has learning changed at IU as a result of the pandemic and bringing people back to campus?

JJ: Our faculty and students are ripe for all types of new experiences. They have a level of comfort with technologies like never before. We've launched a brand new creative digital literacy initiative called the Digital Gardener to ensure faculty and students have a broad understanding of digital literacy from a variety of components. The initiative is unique in that it has both a faculty and student focus. In addition, we have created and installed seven new production studios ranging from high-end with actual operators to what we would call self-service. Now, we can have high-quality video for learning online and then use the classroom time for engagement and conversation. That flipped classroom approach has never been more important.

KP: What are some of the challenges you're seeing when it comes to hybrid learning for both educators and learners?
RC: It is true that students and faculty covet that campus experience, but there are times when they will choose to be remote. Hybrid pedagogy is a challenge. Simultaneously engaging in-class and remote participants puts a lot of pressure on faculty, who now have to be both lecturer and producer. Students are still adapting to hybrid environments, and adopting behavioral norms such as joining the remote session from within the classroom to participate in the chat and have video equity. Many faculty are rethinking the entire experience, cutting content into shorter segments that can be digested asynchronously, and rethinking the lecture time for more active engagement.
There's always been innovation, but what's different now is we're seeing it at scale. And this is creating institutional opportunity as well around capacity and space planning. For instance we can not accommodate 50 students in a classroom with 30 seats. How will a student indicate if they are coming to class? What happens if we get into overbooking situations? We have a lot to learn over the next couple of years.
KP: Steelcase Learning is testing some new hybrid learning spaces to get at some of those challenges. Tim, can you share what you're testing?
TE: We are prototyping a space we call the Learning Studio. It's a cloud-based environment. So, rather than walk in with a laptop and having to find your files, you literally walk in, log into the Microsoft Surface Hub which is mounted on a Steelcase Roam mobile stand, and the instructor or presenter downloads their content, interacting with it through the cloud.

In this space, the virtual world meets the in-room experience. The instructor can engage with the students in the room or those joining remotely. A large display brings remote participants in, literally allowing eye-to-eye contact. There's enhanced audio in the space as well. And everyone in the space uses Microsoft Teams whether they are remote or not so they can share digital content in real time. There's power throughout the space to support personal devices. The arrangement of the space and organic shape of the tables allows everything to stay in view of the camera. This is one of several experiments we're running here at Steelcase based on talking to customers, our tech partners and living this journey ourselves.

KP: What types of hybrid learning environments are you exploring at IU?
JJ: We've really transformed our classroom learning space design discussions to meet a new standard around quality audio, video and content sharing. Another new conversation is: What are we going to do with these large lecture halls? How can they be more engaging? One of our solutions is a more immersive lecture space. The instructors can set the stage for students in the room with biophilia and nature imagery so they can set the tone for the students in the space.

Universities are going to have to pivot and create more unique creative spaces that are more intimate. Our Idea Garden feels like home. After spending a year at home, we know students coming back are looking for something a little bit different. They're looking for technology to explore and ways to engage. This particular space has virtual reality 3D, but also immersive video where you can have a variety of meetings with high-end cameras where you can see and hear all the students.

KP: How is Microsoft coaching clients to integrate technology into these hybrid learning spaces?

RC: One of the big issues we talk about is striving for equity and inclusion. Does everyone have the same quality laptop? An appropriate camera? You don't want people in the room having one conversation and people out of the room having another. The role of the chat window is important, as is taking a poll and having everyone respond without speaking over each other. Ultimately, it comes down to practice and experience. What's asynchronous versus synchronous? There's going to be experimentation. Every moment is going to reveal the best way to do it. We're going to learn how people work and how we create collaborative moments within smaller groups as part of a larger gathering. I don't have any fear that hybrid is going to overwhelm higher ed. It's really an opportunity to reach and include more learners.

KP: Tim, what are the guiding principles you're thinking about when designing these types of spaces?

TE: There's a high demand in these spaces for performance and technology in physical space coming together in a very intentional way. To do that, we are thinking about three key concepts — inclusion, equity and ease. When it comes to inclusion, we're literally embracing the remote participants in these spaces. We're using larger displays, so it's not just a little thumbnail of a person. And mobile displays let you pull remote participants into a breakout conversation. With equity, it's about making sure everyone can see and be seen, hear and be heard and can contribute to content creation.

Finally, when it comes to ease, people need flexibility and easy access to power and technology. You can solve for that without tethering to a table, floor or wall. Mobile power and mobile digital display carts let learning sessions shift into peer-to-peer learning moments or small-group conversations without making it hard to move around and bring your technology with you.

KP: How is IU addressing adapting spaces to accommodate more hybrid learning?

JJ: We've implemented some of those Steelcase solutions. Sufficient power for students and faculty that allows them to move is now a standard when we renovate a space. We're launching our own pilot classroom called the Alcove where we are untethering the instructor from the podium. The instructor can walk in with their own laptop and connect to all of our high-end cameras and audio immediately which can be controlled by the laptop. We also are working on smart classrooms that know the instructor and what type of setting is needed when they walk into the room. We want to capture the whiteboard content so it can be viewed and edited later, and distributed students can see it. You have to start and really experiment with faculty who are willing to provide feedback. Then, you can scale.

Katie Pace: How is Microsoft advising leaders to plan for a shift to hybrid learning?

RC: Once we had to force the spaces to accommodate people who brought in technology. But now we have technology that's bringing in people. That's progress and a big change. When I advise leaders, I like to share three E's to consider.

1. Empathy – People take pride in being good at something. And when you change the way the game is played, they're going to push back. We have to lead with empathy for students going through a different experience, but most importantly, faculty and educators who are being asked to do something differently that they thought they were good at.
2. Experience – Create and lead new experiences that early adopters can test. If you show them that the experience is indeed better, they'll support the evolution of hybrid learning.
3. Equity – We have to think about how we're building personal devices into the experience. Is it part of the cost of attendance? Would it be eligible for aid? We have to be respectful. We don't want to differentiate between those with the sponsored device and the privileged device. We've seen what's happened in K-12 where they rapidly got everyone a low-cost device. But then you had the haves that had a device from their parents and the have nots with the standard issue device

KP: What's the one takeaway you would leave people with when it comes to hybrid learning?

RC: Experience matters for diverse constituents. So, the one-size-fits all concept is fundamentally dead. That's the hard part. You have to think about experience through the eyes of many different personas meeting at the same time. Historically, we have been talking about a remote learning experience or in-class experience. Now, experience has to accommodate diversity of learning style, engagement style and attendance model. I would recommend using persona models to think through the experience for each type of learner or presenter.

JJ: Every space is a learning space. We've been so focused on the physical walls of a classroom, but now we need to become experts in connecting students at a distance including outdoors. We're redesigning outdoor areas into quality learning spaces for our campus which means improving Wi-Fi access and providing better tools and affordances. We need to ask: What can we do to create an experience where learning can happen wherever learners are?

TE: Hybrid learning is all about braiding the physical and digital world. There are important intersection points between technology and physical space that need to be addressed to solve for a more equitable, engaging and easy experience. You need to adapt to ensure everyone can see and hear, has access to power and can interact with content. How does the architecture of the space impact sound quality? Does the lighting make it easier or harder to see? Are remote participants stuck on the wall or can they be moved around the room? Moving forward, we need a comprehensive approach to make hybrid learning work as we literally braid the physical and digital world.

AUDIENCE POLL RESULTS
(Total of 525 audience members. They were allowed to select more than one answer.)

Tell us what best identifies your role.
48% Architect & designer
18% Educator or education leadership
13% Other
9% Corporate strategy or leadership
9% Real estate and facilities management
7% Information technology
5% Corporate learning
2% Human resources

How are you navigating hybrid learning?
32% Accessing lots of support to understand how to implement better hybrid solutions
30% Taking small steps and focused on slow implementation
27% Moving ahead more quickly because we had a lot in place pre-pandemic
13% It is currently challenging and chaotic
9% We are not implementing hybrid learning

Of these, what is the biggest opportunity from implementing hybrid learning?
45% Greater access to learning for participants
34% Giving a voice to all participants using different technology
28% Greater potential reach for institutions or organizations
25% Enhanced efficiencies due to technology and tools

Of these, what is the biggest challenge with hybrid learning?
58% Disparity between in-person and remote participants
23% Building community
21% Instructor adoption
20% Technology integration
19% Increased cost
16% Knowing the best types of activities to engage learners

For hybrid learning to be successful, what does your organization or institution need to improve?
50% Hybrid collaboration spaces
40% Training and resources for instructors to leverage the space and technology
27% In-office or classroom technology
26% Clearly-communicated hybrid learning policies
21% Furniture and technology for learning from home
17% Private individual spaces for hybrid learning

What new experiences are you exploring in response to hybrid learning needs?
40% All of the above
35% Enhanced technology integration
26% Updating learning spaces
18% New learning strategies
13% Additional instructor training
7% We have not started exploring hybrid learning

Rob Curtin is Director of Higher Education for Microsoft's Worldwide Education Industry. Starting at Microsoft over 30 Years ago, Rob has always served education. He is most passionate about technologies that help institutions connect learners with the experiences and opportunities to realize their dreams.

Tim Elms leads Steelcase Learning globally. He has previously led the Steelcase Workplace Innovation Team leveraging design thinking methodology to define and solve for emerging needs of the workplace. Tim now applies his 20+ years experience in workplace, innovation, technology, and education to solving for the hybrid experience in learning and meeting spaces.

Julie Johnston is the Director of Learning Spaces for Indiana University. This position manages four entities of UITS Learning Technologies: Classroom Technology Services, Learning Space Design, Collaboration Technologies, and Student Technology Computing. Along with managing these services, she is ultimately responsible for the technology design of Learning Spaces for the campus, specifically active learning classrooms, informal learning spaces, and student technology center spaces.