The rise of remote and hybrid work changed the workflows of offices around the world, and five years on from the start of the pandemic, event agencies continue to redefine policies around in-office attendance and working from home.
In Event Marketer’s 2025 Agency Business Outlook, 54 percent of agency leaders said employees were required to be in office weekly this year, up from 47 percent in 2024. It’s on par with national trends. ZipRecruiter’s 2024 Annual Employer Survey found that 40 percent of companies support a combination of in-office and remote work. Still, the share of organizations mandating employees come back to the office at least three days per week increased from 37 percent in 2023 to 53 percent in 2024, according to the survey.
ZipRecruiter’s research also indicated that companies are “no longer taking a one-size-fits-all approach” and, instead, tailoring policies to their organizational needs, which has also crept into office floor plan designs and layouts.
To learn more about today’s workplace needs and preferences, we compiled top office design trends and asked experiential agencies to tell us how their own offices are set up and how they support creative workflows.
Leaning into Flexible Spaces
Open cubicle areas, private offices and stand-up desks offer Fuse staff flexible work options. (Photo: Courtesy of Fuse)
Open-plan offices continue to rise in popularity. In fact, offices are getting even more open with fewer (or shorter) walls, dividers and doors. The Gensler Design Forecast 2025 from the Gensler Research Institute defines the modern workplace as functional and social, so it’s all about facilitating conversations, collaboration and networking.
This flexibility also extends to personal workspaces, with Gensler forecasting desks, out; “workpoints,” in. Instead of employees having their own assigned desks, workpoints let them pick from several stations to work from during the day, like a quiet corner, casual lounge or collaborative team area. The idea is to promote mobility and engagement, and optimize space that would normally be taken up by a desk not in use if someone is working from home or traveling.
Delivering ‘Return on Commute’
Marketing agency Fuse is headquartered in a historic brick mill building along a river in Northern Vermont. Inside, its open-concept workspace “was thoughtfully planned out to maximize our team’s workflow and encourage creativity,” says Fuse partner Julie Jatlow. A contemporary, colorful design and artwork are set against the building’s exposed beams, tall ceilings and cement floor. Partial walls are painted in bright citrus colors, and workspaces include private offices, open cubicle areas, stand-up desks and private pods.
A Design Studio offers a large wall where team members can view new creative work, and additional spaces comprise small and large conference rooms, a kitchen, lounge areas and a “De-Fuse Room” to relax and unwind. But the Fuse office’s standout elements are its recreational and community areas.
The Recreation Room features a quarter pipe skate ramp, a ping-pong table and workout gear; it also hosts weekly yoga classes at lunch. Fuse staff can visit the Gear Room to sign out summer and winter gear like stand-up paddle boards, snowshoes, folding kayaks and more. Recognized as an official “bike-friendly business” by the League of American Bicyclists, Fuse provides a dedicated indoor space for bike commuters to store their electric, road and mountain bikes. Outside, the Fuse Community Garden offers team members a place to plant vegetables.
Fuse’s office features a Recreation Room with a quarter pipe skate ramp for employees to enjoy. (Photo: Courtesy of Fuse)
“These unique touches help create a dynamic, inspiring work environment that blends functionality with fun,” Jatlow says. “The community barbecue and picnic benches provide a great outdoor space for team gatherings, while dog beds, bowls and biscuits are available for team members who bring their furry friends. By offering a variety of spaces tailored to different work needs, our office layout fosters both individual productivity and team collaboration, helping drive our team’s success.”
Real estate and investment management firm JLL shared in its Outlook on Design Trends 2025 report that spaces are being reimagined for social connection and community as a way to attract employees back to physical spaces. The No. 1 reason for employees to come to the office was socializing (76 percent), followed by internal meetings (53 percent) and team brainstorming (46 percent). Architecture design firm DLR Group suggests that “successful office spaces will deliver experiences unavailable at home” and that designs must consider the total employee experience, from arrival to work activities throughout the day.
Doing What Works for Your Workflow
The experiential team at Huntington Beach, CA-headquartered Innocean USA works fully remotely. Katie Zuccaro, account director-experiential marketing at the global agency, says remote work allows the team the flexibility to set their own schedule for a better work-life balance, especially as the team is often on the road around the country, activating with clients at auto shows, golf tournaments and brand events. She credits digital tools, conferencing apps and project management software with facilitating more effective communication among team members, including the ability to track conversations and share files.
In her experience, Zuccaro says having middle ground between an open and a closed office floor plan is ideal: “With our largest project being a title sponsorship of a PGA Tour golf tournament, having the ability to be in an open floor plan is helpful for me to ideate with the larger team, but nothing beats a quiet space to be able to sort through budget numbers and brain teasers.”
Featured image credit: iStock/miniseries
