Contributed by Andrew Flint, a co-founder of Occupier, a transaction and portfolio management software helping commercial tenants and brokers manage their real estate footprint. Occupier’s software helps teams make smarter, more informed lease decisions by centralizing the way they work. In turn, teams ensure alignment between their real estate decisions and business successes.

The pandemic-related remote work experiment has been an eye-opener for both employees and employers. However, they don’t necessarily see eye to eye on what it means for the future of on-site operations as teams get back to work.

A 2021 McKinsey survey shows that about half of workers now want to work from home at least three days a week. On the other end of the spectrum, around three-quarters of top-level executives want personnel to be in the office at least three days each workweek. This tug of war between competing needs has had two very different results.

The first (and perhaps least expected) result is the Great Resignation, in which employees are taking their talents to companies that’ll give them more scheduling flexibility. When it comes to going back to work after COVID-19, they’re willing to make a major switch in order to find the balance they want in their personal and professional lives.

The second outcome is a way to get the best of both worlds for all parties: offering hybrid working environment solutions. In fact, the hybrid work model is gaining traction. Yet moving all employees to hybrid isn’t just about keeping everyone’s calendars and expectations up to date. Hybrid work models affect every facet of how work gets done, right down to having a major impact on real estate.