With return-to-work mandates, rethink your office space

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Taking the first step towards a new future for your organization can be a daunting effort—but for professional services organizations, the time is now. With 70% of organizations planning to track office attendance in 2025, the corporate real estate landscape is primed for potential. Leaders must fully capitalize on the seismic shifts in the new standard of in-office work and use their spaces to enhance collaboration, productivity, and company purpose. 

As law firms, in particular, transition back to in-office work, they face the challenge of balancing privacy with collaborative spaces. While these needs seem at odds, a thoughtful approach that integrates flexibility and a strong workplace experience strategy can help firms create environments that attract and retain top talent.

Organic interaction opportunities

The most transformative ideas often emerge far beyond the confines of a boardroom or the monotony of a desk. Instead, sparks of ingenuity can stem from shared moments with colleagues, like a quick chat in the hallway or a coffee break.

These moments that happen in interstitial spaces tend to be afterthoughts. When utilized well, however, an interstitial space can be every bit as impactful as a breakroom or lounge. A global law firm with a two-floor office space is a perfect example. Thanks to an open design and interconnected staircase, team members can communicate quickly and easily with colleagues from other floors.

As in-office work models continue to shift and evolve, leaders must prioritize creating dynamic spaces that foster these organic connections. Otherwise, businesses risk missing out on valuable interactions like knowledge sharing, mentorship, and peer-to-peer professional development. Organizations have plenty of options regardless of office footprint and team size. 

For instance, one of PDR’s energy clients wanted to maximize its office potential and facilitate face-to-face interactions. We worked with them to create specific areas, such as green spaces and cafes, where team members could gather away from their desks. Best of all, the design provided these amenities while simultaneously reducing the footprint, ultimately saving the organization money. Providing these spaces solves for challenges like a lack of mentoring or knowledge sharing, while boosting people’s connection to an organization’s purpose—two primary imperatives valued by new generations of leadership.

Competitive advantages for employee wellness

In today’s competitive job market, top talent has abundant options. This means transforming the office into a powerful amenity that offers unique value—one that attracts, engages, and retains the best employees. 

As noted in Wellhub’s 2025 State of Work-Life Wellness report, 88% of employees say that wellness-focused workspaces are crucial to their overall job satisfaction.  In fact, firms with WELL-certified offices see higher levels of employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Looking to hospitality design is a strong way leaders can begin to rethink their approach to the workplace. A health-centric mindset is especially valuable for the legal profession, where long hours, intense focus, and strong mental and emotional resilience are essential. The industry’s demands can contribute to stress and burnout, resulting in a high turnover rate.

Design elements such as access to daylight or biophilic design have a proven effect on employee productivity and mood, minimizing stress while improving performance. A firm’s leaders must leverage these insights to create spaces that elevate the work experience and provide an undeniable draw to attract new talent and sustain the energy and motivation of those who already drive the firm’s success.

Space utilization

Workplace solutions must be tailored to an organization’s culture and work styles—what works for one industry may not suit another. A functional workspace must align with a company’s purpose while maximizing efficiency. With high real estate costs and long-term leases posing risks, underutilized space can lead to significant financial waste. 

A structured visioning process helps organizations optimize their space. For example, one company balanced energy and focus by dedicating its second floor to quiet areas, meeting rooms, and breakout spaces, complementing its high-energy trade floor. Some law firms are repurposing law libraries into collaborative spaces as research shifts to digital, fostering knowledge sharing and mentorship. Transforming these spaces into meeting or common areas increases opportunities to interact while eliminating single-purpose inefficiencies.

Organizations can create environments that support productivity, collaboration, and long-term business success by taking a strategic approach to space planning.

Future-focus and flexibility

The most impactful workplaces are agile and adaptable, ready to support an organization’s mission today, tomorrow, and for years to come. But leaders must navigate and accommodate multiple needs and preferences from several generations. That is easier said than done, as our global corporate law office client discovered. It was critical that every square foot for this firm was used with intention and provided a competitive advantage. This client had the added challenge of fusing two teams and bringing them under the same roof. Modular planning helped them create a blend of personalized and collaborative work areas well-suited for the firm’s new hybrid work style.

Another Band 1-ranked global law firm involved a similar challenge, as its team needed to balance internal meetings with client interactions in a limited space. To address this, the firm’s conference rooms were designed with adjustable walls, allowing them to expand the space for client meetings while maintaining privacy when needed.

Flexibility was key to these projects’ success and will only become more vital. Adapting to ongoing shifts helps businesses attract top talent and strengthen their competitive edge.

It’s time to prioritize exceptional experiences

As leaders look to the many opportunities ahead, it’s important to remember that people’s needs, workstyles, and preferences in the workplace will continue evolving. Ongoing discussions and a future-focused approach can ensure an organization’s environment provides competitive advantages that match their people’s desires.

Simply put, if organizations do not provide people with the types of experiences they crave, they risk missing out on the best and brightest talent. Or they invest capital in a physical workplace that fails to draw employees into their space. Yet with ample real estate opportunities, this is the perfect time to rethink workplace design.

Lauri Goodman Lampson is president and CEO of PDR.

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