”Virtually no firm will get the return to work right on day one. This will be a perpetual experiment.” Talk turns to how we return to the office on We’re Still Here

On this week's We're Still Here podcast host Emily Wright and EG reporter Lucy Alderson are joined by workplace expert Neil Usher as we start to think seriously about a return to the office.

The good news according to Usher - Sky's former workplace director now heading up partnerships at GoSpace AI - is that the path ahead is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A chance for companies to reset as they consider a strategy for a return to work that takes into consideration more than just the workplace itself. This, says Usher, is the easy part as firms will have to focus more on the wider structure around work from commuting to office hours and staff volumes on a day by day basis.

He warns, however, that most people will get it wrong in the first instance. No one knows what the post-pandemic world will look like and making office space work for the future will be akin to "a perpetual experiment." He adds that one thing is for sure, it will be less about aesthetic than people might expect.

"People are trying to envisage what this future space will look like," he says. "It is more about answering a big question. What is the workplace actually for?"

For Usher's thoughts on an answer to this question plus a round-up of the biggest EG news stories this week from Lucy Alderson, tune in to hear more.