The desk is dead: Hospitality-led corporate real estate design in the era of liberated work

Abstract

The traditional corporate real estate (CRE) model, anchored in fixed desks and centralised office spaces, is rapidly becoming obsolete. The rise of ‘liberated work’ — where location, time and mode of collaboration are no longer fixed — has reshaped the workspace expectations of knowledge workers globally. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift, demonstrating that the various tasks that contribute to ‘work’ are not necessarily tied to a physical office. As a result, organisations must rethink their approach to workspace design, prioritising flexibility, employee experience and hospitality-inspired service delivery. This paper explores the implications of this shift, arguing that CRE must adopt a hospitality-led experiential model to remain relevant. Employees now function as ‘employee-customers’ with heightened expectations for choice, convenience and well-being in their work environments. This necessitates a focus on human-centric design, personalised services and amenity-rich spaces that not only foster productivity and engagement but also act as an attractor for current and potential future employees. Key themes include: 1) the evolution of workspace demand: knowledge workers increasingly prioritise experiential environments that enhance collaboration, creativity and well-being over static desk-based office settings; 2) hospitality as a CRE blueprint: borrowing from the hospitality industry, workspaces should offer seamless experiences, premium services and adaptability to user needs; 3) technology as an enabler: smart building systems, AI-driven space utilisation and frictionless service delivery are essential to modern workspace strategy; 4) operational agility: CRE leaders must transition from rigid lease ‘set and forget’ models that focus on the creation of a fixed physical workspace setting at a point in time (typically at lease commencement) to dynamic, service-oriented solutions that cater to evolving workforce preferences; and 5) CRE and design metrics: the desk is dead as a CRE metric, and as a proxy for people. The ‘seat’ is a new metric not only for density, but it is in the ratio of different seat types and settings that the seat metric comes to life as a key measure of the strategic intent of the workspace and its readiness as a headquarters (HQs) Venue supporting liberated work. As the nature of work continues to evolve, businesses that embrace a hospitality-led approach will gain a competitive advantage, fostering workspace environments and experiences that attract and retain top talent while optimising real estate efficiency. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.