5 Predictions for Offices in 2025

For the first time since 2019, office vacancies are down and downtown foot traffic is up. Take our HQ base of Boston, for example, occupancy at office buildings in Boston now exceeds 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent Boston Globe article.

If 2024 was the year of experimentation then 2025 will be the year of implementation. We've seen companies embrace remote work, question it's efficacy, trial flexible schedules and even double-back on their decisions in favor of 5-days-a-week in office. Now, the majority of companies have settled on some time in the office and some time working from home. The next step? Finding a regular rhythm or what we call: Structured Hybrid.

In-person work has momentum and now is the time to embrace that and reimagine how your workplace structures, supports and encourages collaborative days in the office. As we head into the holiday season, it's a great time to take a look at what's worked, what hasn't and what changes need to take place heading into 2025.

With that in mind, we wanted to provide a peak into what the (near) future of work. Here's what 5 of our Robin leaders predict for offices next year.

Framing Hybrid Work as a Healthy Habit

“It’s time to get more serious about the role of the office, without reverting back to a 5 days a week mentality. In 2025, we’ll see more companies think about social fitness the way we think about physical fitness.

The workplace was one of the last regular social meeting points for many people, but that was largely interrupted by the rise of working from home. Office work needs to be less about forcing people into a workplace and more about integrating the workplace into our day-to-day for more holistic, healthy lives.”

Eliminating Office Friction, Accelerating Automation

"Employees’ sentiment toward offices has improved, but the effort put into preparing for work is seen as a personal tax. Think things like: the stress of commuting, the cost of city lunches and friction with the manual booking of office resources.

People working in the office want hassle-free interactions with workplace resources and need their access to change dynamically based on their plans. Heading into 2025, leading companies will begin earnestly automating and consolidating workplace experiences for their employees."

Emphasizing How the Office Impacts Performance

“We see it every day in the Robin offices. When people are on the floor, together, working towards the same goals, magic happens.

In 2025, we’ll see a more concrete correlation between in-office time and high performance, especially on sales and customer teams. There is no replacement for that on-the-fly learning that happens when people are in the same space and the best organizations recognize that.”

Catering to Collaboration with Intentional Planning

“Being in the office full-time is dead, but the office certainly isn’t. More than ever before, balancing work-from-home with in-person connection fuels productivity.

I see it with my own team all the time. When we make a concentrated effort to facilitate more office time, we see it pay off in their work. 2025 will be about understanding what kinds of moments spark that kind of drive and planning your space accordingly.”

Identifying Workplace Ops as a Critical Function

"In 2025, we're going to see the rise of a powerful new function in workplaces: workplace ops. This isn’t just a shift in roles but a transformation in how office operations are structured. Workplace ops will bring IT, facilities, and operational teams into a single, dynamic force dedicated to making workplaces smarter and more adaptive.

This new model will add specialized roles that seamlessly integrate technology into the daily rhythm of the office, enhancing everything from collaboration and guest management to IT, catering, and meeting services. Workplace ops will be the backbone of efficient, experience-driven workplaces, making every interaction smoother and more intuitive for employees and visitors alike."