Back to the office?

When Google announced this spring that it would bring its employees back to the office, many wondered whether other businesses would follow suit.

What does the post-pandemic office space look like, what lessons did we learn about remote work, and how quickly should these rollouts happen?

All of that is still unfolding, with many businesses opting for a hybrid approach, including one model that brings employees on-site in shifts and allows for a combination work-from-home and work-at-the-office schedule.

And as with most things Google, its office will look and feel much different from your typical workspace. Google had been experimenting with different office designs prior to the pandemic and will try them out over the coming year.

As for other companies? A lot depends on the business model itself, but for many, a number of scenarios seem common:

* Remote work is still an option for many. Whether it was a long commute or hesitancy to return to a crowded interior space, employees can still fire up their Zoom connections.

* Co-working space (Remember WeWork?). Some businesses are taking another look at co-working space, which provides employees with a place to work outside the home AND outside the office. This could be attractive to people with the aforementioned long commute and those who simply want to get out of the house.

* In-office rotations. In this scenario, employees take turns working on site.

* Outdoor space. At Google, outdoor work tents and fenced-in areas with grass and wood flooring evoke a camping theme. Of course, the weather is cooperative at its Silicon Valley headquarters and Google has the cash to try out new ideas. Still, other businesses can take note of how to better use outdoor space when they can, much like restaurants that found innovative ways to create outdoor dining.