The Future Of Work Has Already Arrived. Is Your Office Ready?
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
We talk a lot about the future of work. But the truth is, for most businesses, the future has already arrived. The question isn't what's coming. The question is whether your office is keeping up.
We recently sat down with Clive Lucking, CEO of Studio Alliance - a European alliance of workplace experts spanning 18 countries - to talk about exactly that.
Clive has spent decades in the workplace design and fit-out industry, building office fit-out business Area from zero to £160M in revenue before turning his attention to Europe.
He's visited offices in 32 countries. He's seen what works, what doesn't, and where most businesses are getting it wrong.
Here's what we took away from the conversation.
Stop Calling It Hybrid Working
One of the first things Clive said that stopped us in our tracks was this - stop calling it hybrid working. It's just work now.
And he's right. The conversation around hybrid working has dominated boardrooms and LinkedIn feeds for the past four years. But the reality is that flexible working isn't a trend anymore. It's the default. Most businesses have accepted that employees will split their time between home and office and the debate about whether that's right or wrong is largely over.
The more important conversation now is what you do with the office days you have. If people are only coming in two or three days a week, those days need to count. The office needs to earn its place. And that means creating an environment that people actually want to be in - not one they're forced into.
The Office Needs To Earn Its Place
This was probably the most consistent theme throughout the entire conversation. The businesses that are getting workplace strategy right aren't the ones mandating five days a week in the office. They're the ones creating spaces so good that people want to come in.
Clive gave a brilliant example from their Italian member in Milan. At the heart of their studio is what he describes as a garden. Natural lighting that changes throughout the day. The sounds and smells of the outdoors brought inside. A living, breathing space that sits at the centre of how the whole office functions. And the result? It's the most popular spot in the building. Nobody is being told to sit there. They just want to.
That's the shift. The office can't just be a desk and a meeting room anymore. It needs to offer something that working from home can't. Collaboration. Connection. An environment that genuinely supports how people do their best work.
Authenticity Matters More Than You Think
One of Clive's sharpest observations was around authenticity. He made the point that there's nothing worse than a business that positions itself as flexible and progressive and then hands you a fixed desk on day one.
Your office needs to reflect who you actually are as a business. If you value flexibility, build flexibility into the design. If collaboration is core to how you work, create spaces that make collaboration easy and natural. If you want people to stay late and do great work, give them a reason to want to be there.
The businesses that get this right don't just have better offices. They have better cultures. Better retention. Better results.
Technology Is Non-Negotiable
Clive was clear on this one. If you're not embracing technology - and specifically AI - you're going to get left behind. That's not a prediction. That's already happening.
Within Studio Alliance, one of their regular weekly calls is now dedicated entirely to AI. Members share what tools they're using, how they're using them, and what's working. Some members are ahead of the curve. Some are catching up. But the ones who are ignoring it entirely? They're the ones who'll be playing catch-up in three years when the gap has become impossible to close.
For workplace specifically, the practical applications are growing fast. From occupancy monitoring and building performance data to AI-assisted design and project management tools - technology is changing how offices are planned, built and managed. Getting ahead of that curve now is one of the smartest things any business can do.
And this is exactly why we run our tech days.
What This Means For Your Next Office Project
If you're planning an office move or refurbishment in the next 12 to 24 months, here's the practical takeaway from everything Clive shared.
Start with the question of who you are as a business and what your office needs to say about that. Don't copy what someone else is doing. Don't chase trends for the sake of it. But do invest in flexibility, in biophilic design where you can, and in technology that actually serves a purpose.
And when it comes to AV and workplace technology specifically - get it in early. One of the most common mistakes we see on office projects is AV being treated as an afterthought. Screens bolted to walls at the end of a project with no thought given to how the rooms actually function. It costs more to fix it later than to get it right from the start.
Come And See What's Possible
If this conversation has got you thinking about your own office - whether you're in the middle of a project, planning one, or just wondering what the art of the possible looks like - we'd love to show you.
We're running our next Tech Day soon and spaces are limited. It's a chance to get hands on with the latest workplace technology, see what's genuinely possible when AV is done properly, and ask the questions you've been sitting on.
Don't wait until you're in the middle of a project to start thinking about this stuff. The businesses that get it right are the ones that plan ahead.
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