In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations pulled out all the stops to retain and attract talent. The FM:Systems 2024 Inside the Workplace survey of U.S. business leaders revealed that employee-focused initiatives were dominating workplace relocation and optimization plans. For example, 29% of respondents said that they had changed the layout and décor of their office to entice employees to spend more time there. Being centrally located to employees and close to amenities like shopping, restaurants and public transportation were cited as top workplace priorities.
Fast forward to 2025, and the share of organizations enticing employees back to the office with workplace refreshes has dropped by more than half. Today, the main driver behind relocation plans isn’t reducing commute times or proximity to amenities — it’s cutting costs.
This shift in priorities is not surprising. The Great Resignation has run its course, and higher costs, record household debt and dwindling savings are prompting employees to hold on to their jobs. Meanwhile, high prices and interest rates have pushed cost reduction to the top of the priority list for many companies.
The pendulum is swinging from catering to employee preferences to focusing on business fundamentals. Allowing it to swing to extremes in either direction can be counterproductive. For example, the elimination of employee perks may reduce costs, but it’s also likely to damage morale and productivity.
Companies can use FM:Systems workplace management and smart building technology to support better decision-making and more precise execution when it’s time to change direction. Here’s how:
Balancing Employee Comfort and Cost Optimization as Well-being Amenities
To acknowledge employees’ preference for remote work, many organizations have added amenities like meditation rooms, on-site gyms and nap pods to make the office feel more like home. However, some of these features come at considerable cost, and not just financially but also in how they affect space optimization.
For instance, while the expenses of turning a conference room into a meditation room may already be a sunk cost, the inability to use that space for collaboration or additional workspaces is an ongoing hindrance to space- and cost-optimization. This creates a complex challenge where organizations need to determine what’s better for the business: should companies keep the meditation room in place to support employee morale and productivity, or add desks to relieve crowding in other parts of the office?
Workplace management technology, like occupancy sensors and room-booking software, can reveal usage patterns to help business leaders weigh the cost of an amenity against its popularity among employees. Knowing that employees aren’t using the meditation room provides an easy answer to the question of how repurposing it might impact morale and productivity. This insight can also inform internal communications plans – after all, if nobody is using a perk, workers are less likely to view the discontinuation of that perk negatively. In fact, they may actually welcome the chance to spread out more or the addition of a new space for collaboration.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): Enhancing Workplace Health and Efficiency
Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can lead to fatigue, headaches and a lack of focus among employees, negatively impacting productivity, morale and performance. Monitoring and improving IAQ is not just good for workers, it’s good for business.
But in the wake of the pandemic, IAQ became an important component in brand enhancement and talent acquisition and retention strategies, with organizations touting their air quality efforts on social media and in job postings. That may lead some organizations to believe it’s just another nonessential employee perk. While some may now view it as a nonessential perk, discontinuing IAQ monitoring would be shortsighted. That’s because, in addition to contributing to employee health and well-being, keeping an eye on IAQ is a relatively inexpensive way to improve operational performance, reduce energy costs and support sustainability initiatives.
Unexpected changes in temperature, humidity and particulates can be signs of poor HVAC system performance. Having visibility of those anomalies can help facility managers (FMs) identify and address issues before they become big, costly problems.
Since HVAC systems are often the biggest consumer of energy in a commercial building, they can also be a huge source of energy waste. Tracking IAQ helps FMs ensure optimal performance of HVAC units, reducing waste and costs.
Finally, an HVAC unit that’s running efficiently not only uses less energy, it generates less greenhouse gas emissions. That means that using IAQ monitoring to help pinpoint suboptimal equipment performance can also help reduce an organization’s carbon footprint.
Leveraging Technology to Optimize Office Space and Employee Experience
Employees are spending more time in the office. The FM:Systems 2025 Inside the Workplace survey found that 57% of business leaders said employees are now working in the office five days a week, up from 48% last year. Meanwhile, the percentage of organizations allowing fewer than three in-office days per week has fallen by more than half. In other words, workplaces that may have been underutilized may start to feel more crowded, if they haven’t already.
FMs can embrace workplace technology to optimize the space they have for the functions the organization deems most valuable. For example, FM:Systems solutions can help organizations understand what spaces are most popular and why. Sensors and utilization analytics can identify spaces that are under-performing, allowing organizations to invest in the types of spaces their employees value.
These tools can also make the workplace more inviting for employees who may be reluctant to return to the office. Giving workers easy access to reserve collaborative space, arrange on-site meetings with catering or IT services and streamlined visitor management can make in-office work more efficient and enjoyable, maximizing the benefits of having people onsite.
Conclusion: Adapting to Workplace Shifts with Smart Data-Driven Decisions
Over the past year, many organizations have shifted their priorities from being employee-focused to cost-focused. Adjusting to change is a constant in business, but not every change is clear-cut. Many bring both risks and opportunities.
FM:Systems technology helps companies adapt to ever-changing priorities, minimizing risks, avoiding unintended consequences and maximizing opportunities. By balancing these inevitable shifts thoughtfully, organizations can stay agile without letting the pendulum swing too far in one direction.