LABJ Insider: Why Companies Need to Adapt Workspaces to People, Not Vice Versa

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We’re in the midst of the Great Talent Reshuffle — a more positive label popping up online than the Great Resignation referring to how large numbers of people are reevaluating how and where they want to work. And businesses are reshuffling workspace priorities in kind.

During the Business Journal’s Navigating Workplace Needs panel discussion Nov. 10, panelists shared their insights in to how companies can adapt to changing needs quickly and what workspaces will look like in the coming year.


Panelist Dimitry Krol, an associate in the entertainment labor group at law firm Loeb & Loeb, said facilitating collaboration will be necessary but doing so requires an awareness of a team’s operations.


“I think it’s going to be collaborative — not only … in meeting together but also in understanding your workforce and how they’re working and how best you can implement remote work or in-person environments,” Krol said.


Peter Greenspan, global head of real estate for WeWork, also emphasized bridging physical spaces and digital interactions.


“Flexibility is key,” he said. “It’s got to be technologically enabled so that people can figure out who’s where, who you’re collaborating with and when you’re not at home how you’re using the space best.”


Making workspaces inviting will be a crucial part of facilitating successful collaboration, according to Greenspan and Lisa Buckley, VaynerMedia’s managing director.


“I think it’s about ensuring autonomy and trust for people in a hybrid workspace going forward,” Buckley said.


Prioritizing those goals will show that businesses are paying attention to the strides their teams have made in working remotely for nearly two years as well as keeping up with trends, such as people wanting collaboration but not really having a desire to go back to exactly the way things were prior to the pandemic.


“As an overarching theme, space will reflect the organization’s purpose, vision and culture,” said Blake Searles, senior managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle in Los Angeles. “And, aspirationally, it’ll inspire a workforce. That’s the direction we’re headed. How long it’ll take to get there, we’ll see.” 

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Stephanie Barbaran
Stephanie Barbaran joined the Los Angeles Business Journal as managing editor in 2019 and started serving as interim editor in Sept. 2021. She was part of the LABJ team that won Alliance of Area Business Publishers awards in 2021 (Best Ancillary Publication, Large Tabloid: 2020 Wealthiest Angelenos; Best of Show: Most Improved Publication). Barbaran has worked as a writer and editor in B2B publishing roles, as well as a content strategist and SEO content specialist for companies and content marketing agencies. Her focus in leading teams is to prioritize quality and purpose in content production, aiming to provide high-value, engaging materials to tell compelling stories for print and digital audiences. She was raised in West Los Angeles and studied journalism at Rutgers University-Newark.

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