As organizations navigate post-pandemic work arrangements, the conversation has evolved beyond simple location preferences to deeper questions about how workplace experiences shape productivity, collaboration, and talent retention. Modern workplace strategists are rethinking fundamental assumptions about space utilization, technology integration, and generational preferences.
As a result, the modern workplace is undergoing a profound transformation, and facilities managers are at the heart of this change. As we navigate through 2025, the traditional notions of office space are being redefined, challenging facilities professionals to think beyond maintenance and space allocation to become strategic partners in their organizations’ success. Findings from a recent Envoy report, “The State of Work in 2025,” offer critical insights that directly impact how facilities professionals should approach their roles.
From Mandate to Magnet: The New Workplace Paradigm
After several years of disruption in terms of workspace trends, it’s important to understand what motivates professionals to return to the office in meaningful numbers. Mandated returns to the office aren’t effective on their own. In the Envoy report, we found that 51% of Gen Z cited office comfort and design as key motivators, and 57% of all respondents said they come to the office primarily for company culture and team engagement, prioritizing meaningful collaboration.
While flexibility remains a critical workplace expectation, employees are also drawn back to the office by collaborative opportunities, social interaction, and environments that foster both deep focus and effective teamwork. They increasingly recognize the unique value of face-to-face collaboration, spontaneous brainstorming sessions that spark innovation, and real-time problem-solving without technological barriers. As a result, traditional office configurations designed primarily for standardization and supervision no longer meet the evolving needs of today’s workers.
The physical environment clearly matters, so creating destination-worthy workplaces should fundamentally reshape how facilities managers approach their spaces.
The message is clear—the office must earn the commute.
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation: Creating Spaces That Work for Everyone
For the first time in history, five generations are working side by side, each with different expectations about technology and flexibility. This diversity presents unique challenges for facilities managers trying to create cohesive experiences. Gen Z professionals cite office comfort and design as key motivators for coming to work, while other generations prioritize distinct aspects of the workplace.
Forward-thinking companies must invest in spaces that support both focused individual work and team collaboration. Varied physical surroundings stimulate creativity, accommodate different work styles, and provide employees with greater autonomy. Research shows that one-size-fits-all approaches are ineffective—open-plan offices don’t suit everyone, while assigned desks are impractical for occasional office users.
Flexibility has evolved from a preference to a strategic imperative for talent attraction. While younger employees may advocate more vocally for remote and hybrid options, professionals of all ages increasingly want control over when and where they work because it provides a customized experience conducive to their unique needs.
Effective workplaces integrate intuitive technology without overwhelming less tech-savvy employees, implementing activity-based working models where employees select settings based on their current task. Design should blend vibrant collaboration zones with quiet areas for concentration, and technology-enhanced meeting areas connecting in-person and remote participants, creating environments that accommodate diverse working styles.
The college environment offers a relevant model, particularly for younger workers. Just as students might study quietly in the library or collaborate in a coffee shop depending on their needs, today’s workforce benefits from varied environments. For digital natives, technology’s portability enables work from any comfortable setting, with different environments stimulating creativity.
Companies must now adapt to the reality that the workplace has become an opt-in experience curated for connection, enablement, and collaboration. Responding to this shift, 66% of companies have made workplace flexibility—the option to choose work hours and locations—a top priority in 2025 and beyond.
Embracing AI and Automation
The report also reveals that 76% of professionals believe artificial intelligence (AI) will have the biggest impact on how we work in 2025, with 69% of organizations planning to invest in automation tools. For facilities managers, this signals a need to integrate these technologies thoughtfully. Companies are recognizing the necessity of adopting these transformative technologies. This isn’t just an incremental change—it’s a complete reimagining of work processes, office space utilization, and human-technology interaction. Today’s employees expect workplaces equipped with intelligent, intuitive systems that enhance efficiency, security, and collaboration.
AI is no longer confined to technical departments. It now permeates all aspects of workplace functionality. From streamlining administrative tasks to optimizing office space utilization, AI is fundamentally changing how we engage with both digital and physical workspaces.
Budget allocation reveals evolving organizational priorities. While traditional IT infrastructure still receives substantial technology spending, there’s a notable increase in investments for employee experience technologies, including collaboration tools, workflow automation platforms, and AI-powered productivity assistants. This reflects growing recognition that technology investments should enhance human capabilities rather than simply replace them.
AI Driving Personalization
AI enables personalization in workplace experiences, which allows companies to meet people where they’re at in terms of their workplace needs. Of course, each individual needs different things in order to thrive, and workplaces can leverage AI to explore a hybrid approach where organizations establish baseline expectations while using technology to accommodate individual preferences and work styles. AI serves as a bridging mechanism between organizational needs and personal preferences.
The good news? Companies are measuring return on these investments beyond cost savings—in employee satisfaction, work quality improvements, and increased innovation. Organizations taking this comprehensive view are discovering compelling reasons to continue investing in advanced workplace technology.
Productivity Expectations and Technological Advancement
As technology advances, we are seeing increasing productivity expectations. Team members are expected to produce a lot more. In previous generations, professionals like facilities managers would sift through thick binders of building codes, compliance manuals, and safety regulations to find the information they needed. Today, not only is that information digitized and instantly accessible online, but AI can now analyze it and deliver precise answers in seconds. The time once spent flipping pages is now spent making decisions.
So, what’s the expectation?
The expectation is that whoever’s practicing is going to get that work product out faster, more accurately. This is connected to the need for diverse workspace configurations. As those expectations and demands are rapidly increasing in the work world, especially the technology work world, people have to adjust their working style to be as productive as possible. That’s where having a bit more diversity in terms of spaces, how they’re used, and how they’re configured is becoming more important because it is like the portable office, the college setup.
Technology Implementation: Removing Friction and Creating Appeal
Workplace technology serves dual purposes: eliminating barriers to productivity and creating compelling experiences that attract people to the space. Effective workplaces balance both aspects, recognizing that technology should both facilitate access and enhance the work environment.
The first category focuses on removing friction. Solutions like a secure access system streamline entry to physical locations, ensuring employees can get into physical locations securely without unnecessary obstacles. This approach prioritizes efficiency, allowing people to get to where they need to do their best work without frustration.
The second category creates magnetic experiences that draw people in. These attractive value propositions include:
- Collaborative environments that leverage “human intelligence” through spontaneous learning and teamwork;
- Thoughtfully designed amenities and services; and
- Technology that integrates seamlessly with physical spaces, such as intuitive wayfinding systems and rooms with visible availability status.
By addressing both categories, organizations create workplaces that are both accessible and desirable.
Measuring ROI of Flexible Workplaces: Beyond Traditional Metrics
Measuring the return on investment (ROI) for flexible workplaces presents unique challenges that extend beyond conventional metrics. ROI measurement should be contextual rather than universal, carefully calibrated to specific organizational goals and priorities. Effective workplace strategy must align with broader business objectives. The strategy around how people work has to mirror the business strategy.
Early experimental ROI approaches include monitoring Slack interactions on remote versus in-office days and assessing product development idea generation across different work environments. Organizations are also evaluating square footage utilization and analyzing how their overall workplace footprint relates to market opportunities.
The ROI conversation extends significantly to talent acquisition and retention. This is interesting because if an organization wants to be a talent destination that attracts the best talent, then they need to have the right value proposition for that talent. This positions workplace strategy as a competitive differentiator in talent markets, with effectiveness measured through recruitment and retention outcomes.
From Tactical to Strategic: Transforming Facilities Management
The facilities management role is undergoing a fundamental evolution, shifting from operational execution to strategic leadership. Today’s facilities managers must develop capabilities that connect workplace design directly to business outcomes, representing a transformation from “space administrator” to “workplace experience strategist.”
This strategic orientation requires facilities leaders to deeply understand how physical environments support specific business functions. For example, sales and customer success employees who face customers need spaces that enable them to be engaged and energetic to garner attention and close deals. The focus moves beyond maintaining spaces to intentionally designing environments that enhance performance for different teams.
Effective facilities management now demands an ecosystem approach that balances multiple factors simultaneously. Like a game of Tetris, leaders must consider the type of work being done, the business goals, and individual styles when creating workplace solutions. This holistic perspective recognizes that spaces cannot be divorced from the humans who use them.
Forward-thinking facilities management integrates both human and technological intelligence to optimize the ROI derived from office space. Organizations that rapidly adopt this strategic approach will likely secure significant competitive advantages in the marketplace.
Perhaps the greatest challenge and opportunity in workplace innovation is adoption speed. Organizations that quickly implement effective strategies gain advantages in talent acquisition and productivity. This urgency must balance with thoughtful implementation that supports rather than disrupts work. The most successful organizations will create workplace experiences that feel like natural extensions of how people already prefer to work.
Beyond Ping-Pong Tables: What Really Matters
The era of flashy perks like game rooms might be fading, but thoughtful amenities still matter. About a third of professionals cite office lunch and snacks as motivators for coming to the office. The takeaway? Simple conveniences like quality coffee, healthy snacks, and comfortable break areas offer significant returns for relatively little investment.
More substantially, 54% of professionals believe well-being zones boost productivity. This suggests that facilities managers should incorporate wellness rooms, quiet spaces, and ergonomic workstations as essential elements of the workplace, not just nice-to-have additions.
The research shows that 81% of respondents believe workplace design significantly influences productivity, and 76% say it impacts employee retention. These statistics underscore that facilities management isn’t about keeping the lights on—it’s about creating environments that directly impact business outcomes.
The Path Forward
While return-to-office mandates may bring bodies back to buildings, creating truly effective workplaces requires more than policy enforcement. It demands thoughtful design, strategic technology implementation, and a deep understanding of what makes physical space valuable in an era of choice.
For facilities managers, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity to elevate their role from space administrators to workplace experience strategists. By embracing these trends and implementing responsive strategies, facilities professionals can transform their organizations’ physical environments into powerful assets that attract talent, foster collaboration, and drive business success in 2025 and beyond.
Caitlin Kamm is the director of people growth at Envoy, an integrated workplace platform that connects people, spaces, and data. The company’s “State of Work in 2025” report is available for download here.