The hybrid work life

Apply by answering five questions below.

We invite software developers, furniture manufacturers, office providers, work environment consultants, behavioral designers, and other specialists in the field of workplace and workflow design to submit your take on commercial solutions that support and strengthens hybrid work.

COVID-19 has changed our workflows. For many, it has changed to working more from home with more digital solutions. This has in turn has switched the focus on work environment elsewhere than the office. Even more people have been influenced by initiatives in relation to distancing and hygiene, while still having to perform their work. In this case it is not about online meetings but for example changed interior and wayfinding or the use of new technology that reduces a risk of contamination and improves the use of the physical environment.

Experiences with hybrid work are mixed. For companies and employees, the digital support of the workday has several advantages such as: flexible working hours, opportunity for immersion, better space utilization, the need for less office space, lower transport times, virtual meetings across large geographical distances, automation and new solutions which reduce the need to bring craftsmen, real estate agents or others into the home. At the same time, the fluid transition between work, home and leisure can lead to burnout, the social glue and integration of new employees is weakened without informal meetings and coffee breaks, and individual production is prioritized at the expense of collective coordination and development furthermore equity in the household can have been influenced.

We therefore want to support solutions that within the built environment promotes the positive qualities of combining physical and digital presence, which at the same time meet the challenges of hybrid work.

The type of solutions we are looking for:

• Design tools to design attractive, resilient, and healthy work environments with optimal space usage
• Design platforms which support efficient use of office buildings e.g., the allocation of spaces, canteen etc. Optionally supported by real time sensor data
• Planning and interior design solutions which allow flexible reprogramming of office and home for different work and living situations without compromising with work environment and well-being
• Digital support for e.g., meter scanning or house showings enabling the end user to perform the task
• New business models and methods of contact which enable the establishment of “the fourth place” e.g., short term leases, rent subsidies, and temporary building permits in empty commercial spaces
• New technologies which support our mental health in our work life e.g., through augmented reality