If you are a business owner or executive reading this, you’ve likely wrestled with the return-to-office question more than once. Not just when, where and how—but maybe even why bother at all. But let’s be honest here. Most return-to-office strategies aren’t working because they’re focused on the wrong thing: presence over purpose. And there is no going back to the way things were. We now need spaces and experiences that make us feel belonging, clarity, momentum, pride. The kind of feelings that fuel innovative work and keep great people.
So, if you are a leader still wondering what to do next, I don’t blame you. The office you once knew doesn’t fit the way your people work anymore. But space still matters—maybe now more than ever—and if your space doesn’t support how your people live, work and thrive, they won’t stay engaged—or stay at all.
You don’t need a new building. You need new experiences. At CREATE+CO, we work with companies ready to make space meaningful again. Not by throwing out everything familiar. But by asking better questions and designing environments that reflect who they are, what they believe, where they’re headed and what tools they need to get there. The most successful workplace leaders aren’t just designing places. They’re designing experiences. That means crafting environments where people can focus, connect, recharge, belong and thrive. They bring together leadership, HR, technology, real estate and design to shape environments that serve genuine business goals. And when those teams move in sync, the workplace becomes your ultimate retention strategy.
Space isn’t culture—but it can support it. Before 2020, many offices were already running on fumes. Desks filled because they had to. Collaboration happened on the fringes. Most spaces functioned well enough—until they didn’t. The pandemic revealed that work can happen anywhere. But great work? That still needs the right conditions. When designed well, the workplace becomes a tool for building trust, supporting focus, sparking creativity and reinforcing values. When it’s designed poorly—or not at all—it becomes a source of friction.
When spaces are outdated, disconnected, awkward or just plain inconvenient, they drain energy and erode trust. They make people question why they came in at all. The good news? It may not be as complicated to fix as you think. Often, it starts with small shifts—acoustic zones, flexible furniture, tech-ready meeting rooms, spaces to focus, collaborate, breathe and reset. The best solutions are almost invisible. But the impact is mighty.
Design for people. Not personas. One of the biggest traps we see is designing for personalities, generations, status or titles. But people don’t fit neatly into buckets. They need different things on different days. That’s why flexibility matters. A workplace should support heads-down time and team energy. Designing for real people means asking real questions and listening to real feedback to determine how your space supports these three core elements:
People: What helps people do their best work—not just their most visible work? And are you designing for all people? Inclusive design isn’t about checking a box. It’s about recognizing that wellbeing, neurodiversity and life experiences shape how we ALL show up at work.
Purpose: Do people understand why they’re coming in? What can they do in the office they can’t do at home? A well-designed workplace can unlock collaboration, mentorship and creativity in ways digital tools and remote connections cannot.
Performance: Are your tools, furniture and spaces actually helping people do their jobs better? Or are they forcing workarounds that undermine productivity and trust? From acoustic zoning to tech integration that actually works on day one, performance matters.
We don’t need more space—just better alignment. In many of our projects, companies are actually using the same or less square footage but getting more out of it. That’s because the space matches the rhythm of the business. It supports how people actually work. It helps leadership send the right signals and instead of focusing on the traditional cost per square foot leans in to a ‘cost per moment’ model that builds trust, solves a problem or gives someone pride in their workplace. Gallup reported that organizations that prioritize workplace experience see up to 21% greater profitability, 24% lower turnover and 41% lower absenteeism. In a competitive market, these margins matter. The right space doesn’t just help people stay—it helps attract the talent you want to grow with.
Returning to the office isn’t the goal. Thriving is. The most successful returns haven’t come from mandates but from bold, people-first leadership. Leaders who stopped treating the workplace as an obligation—and started leveraging it as a strategic advantage. They invested in environments that reduce friction, restore energy and reinforce culture. Their teams didn’t just return. They reconnected, reengaged and started doing better work. If you’re leading a return, lead with intention. Design a space that earns your people’s time—and accelerates your business forward.
Kristina York is co-founder of CREATE+CO, a women-owned Architecture and Interior Design studio specializing in workplace strategy and environments that help people live, work and thrive. Together with partner Angela Davis, she leads organizations through culture-focused transformations—designing spaces that drive engagement, retention and business performance. Kristina is also the host of the Create A Place podcast and speaker on the future of work.