Driving Engagement and Innovation Through Future Workspaces

In an exclusive interview with Thiruamuthan, Correspondent, Asia Business Outlook, Swathasiddha Majumdar, Head of Strategy at Unispace India, shares the essential needs for workplaces of the future to evolve from perks to what is necessary, like comfort, flexibility, and collaboration in the modern workspace function. Majumdar is a profound architect who has worked across diverse domains, including product design, facade consultancy, and workplace strategy with global firms like Gensler and RSV. He specializes in data-driven workplace strategies.

Hybrid work has blurred the boundaries between office, home, and third spaces. What strategies can ensure workplaces remain purposeful and not just a cost burden?

I would anecdote that flexibility has now become the key principle of the modern workstation. Consider this analogy: during a storm, tall, rigid trees are prone to falling, whereas short and flexible ones, like banana trees, remain standing. Similarly, workplaces must be dynamic and responsive to change. Today’s office is no longer just a place to work; rather, it serves as a hub for socialization, collaboration, and innovation. Work can happen anywhere—at home, in resorts, or cafes—but the fathom characteristic of a modern workplace is its purpose. Embracing this reality will enable the organizations to flourish more. In the future, the workplace can evolve into an experimental laboratory for innovation, where those who create and adapt will not just survive but thrive.

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There is a report highlighting that employees are shifting from perks to essentials like comfort and customization. How businesses are translating these insights into practical workplace design?

Companies such as Unispace start with the discovery process that focuses on a close contact with the clients. In fact, all the insights show that the employees nowadays are not so concerned with the tangible benefits and are more interested in the intangibles that include comfort, light, temperature and the tools of collaboration, which boost the interest seamlessly. The design approach also ensures that the strategy is co-created with the client, immersing them in the process. As a result, offices are now tailored in close collaboration with clients, prioritizing serenity, comfort, and bespoke solutions at every stage.

Concurrently, the companies believe that design does not begin on the drawing board, but within the client’s workplace itself. In this sense, the task of a designer is compared to that of a physician, who evaluates problems such as low productivity, attrition, or ROI issues. Listening is the best cure since each project is different. According to Unispace, the more the whole industry expands (including the competitors), the greater the strength and formalization of the working field.

Noise and distractions remain the top blockers of performance worldwide. How can leaders balance real estate investment with design inventions to improve productivity?

Firstly, it is necessary to focus on getting rid of immediate blockers, including noise and distractions. This is to be done with the design approaches that incorporate acoustics, white noise, sound screens, and solutions that are privacy oriented.

The tough part, however, is changing the cost mentality. All too frequently, India is inclined to use cheaply made products and demand global quality. For example, we at Unispace emphasize that quality solutions help to increase tangible and intangible ROI. Ultimately, an appreciatively structured workplace not only enhances concentration and productivity, but also provides distinct experiences that cannot be offered to the employees in other so-called third spaces.

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Technology is reshaping workflows. How can leaders integrate it into workplace strategies without overwhelming employees or creating digital fatigue?

A truly future-ready workplace acknowledges that technology integration is grounded in balance and ethics. Employees appreciate freedom, and technology must not infringe on freedom but complement it. More importantly, the vision of the company is not to consider tools like AI as competitors but as allies.

In a distinctive approach, the research should focus on what we call collaborative intelligent designs, where humans and AI work in tandem. This coexistence is the future, where human input leads to results and technology magnifies them, thus developing structures that improve productivity without developing fatigue.

Looking ahead to 2030, when offices may shrink in size but expand in purpose, what strategic role will workplace design play?

The design of the workplace will become central to the future business performance, both in terms of innovation and retention and engagement of the employees. The most important principles will be flexibility and tolerance.

For instance, the belief of Unispace is that workplaces are not spaces to be increased or decreased, but to continually change and adapt. A good example is the Taj Mahal, which is constructed using floating logs, and it has not been affected by earthquakes over the centuries due to its fine-tuning to its seismic environment. Similarly, the work environments that will be flexible and accommodating will not only survive the next decade but will also flourish in it.

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Finally, many experts say “sitting is the new smoking.” What’s your take on this?

Yes, I absolutely affirm this statement is true. Spending too much time sitting is even worse than smoking because the human body is made to move. Prolonged immobility is directly correlated to heart disease, lower back problems and other chronic problems.

The recent inventions that have been introduced to the workplace, like adjustable chairs and treadmill workstations, are good moves in correcting this crisis. However, the greater change needs to be psychological. Society has always associated sitting with comfort and standing with punishment, and this is how our psyche is built. Workplaces can turn around this trend by creating environments that promote standing and movement, and healthy lifestyles. This is not merely aimed at enhanced productivity but long-term healthy employee well-being.