For guidance on building better workplaces after the pandemic, preview this chapter from the IFMA Foundation

by Brianna Crandall — May 26, 2021 — Independent FM education and research nonprofit the IFMA Foundation just launched a preview chapter of Work on the Move 3: Building Better Workplaces After the Pandemic, a follow-up book on integrated business strategy and workplace transformation. This timely publication will be released this summer as the world continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and organizations make decisions about safely returning to work.

Cover of Work on the Move 3: Building Better Workplaces After the Pandemic

Image courtesy IFMA Foundation

Written by IFMA Fellows Michael Schley and Pat Turnbull, “Chapter 2: The Hybrid Workplace, Reimagining the Future of Work After the Pandemic” can be downloaded for free from the IFMA Foundation website.

Schley remarked:

As the world recovers from the forced work-from-home practices necessary during the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea of a hybrid workplace that combines remote work with the use of office space for collaborative activities is gaining favor. This chapter explores issues of human interaction, innovation and organizational culture, and addresses the question of why offices are needed.

The full book will be published and available for purchase in the summer of 2021. The concepts shared in the book are intended to help executives and managers lead their companies through a critical workplace transformation in a post-pandemic world. It will address challenges in ensuring health and well-being, environment, diversity and inclusion for all workplace occupants.

The book will cover health challenges during and after the pandemic, and the increased appreciation of the role of facilities managers (FMs) in maintaining safe and healthy workplaces. The important part that buildings play in reducing our environmental footprint to avert global heating will also be addressed.

Work on the Move 3 is a collaborative effort of 19 internationally renowned experts in the fields of workplace strategy, human capital, real estate, technology and business. Topics covered by these industry thought leaders include:

  1. The New Hybrid Workplace — Michael Schley and Pat Turnbull
  2. Global Workplace and Workforce Trends — Alexi Marmot
  3. Health and Well-being at Work — Alexi Marmot
  4. Sustainability and Planetary Health — Chris Hood, William Buller, Max Luff, Celeste Tell and Lisa Whited
  5. Workforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — Jodi Davidson and Angela Johnson Culver
  6. Technology — Erik Jaspers and Michael Schley
  7. Innovation and Revolution in the Location of Workplaces and Real Estate — Ed Connolly and Scott Redabaugh
  8. Emerging Trends in the Facility Services Business Model — Maureen Welch, Anthony Caron and Kelly Spinola
  9. Designing for the Post-Pandemic Workplace — Arnold Levin and Albert De Plazaola
  10. Case Studies — Kate North

Co-editors Michael Schley and Alexi Marmot had a vision to educate executives and staff focused on workplace issues by asking forward-thinking, experienced professionals to share their knowledge with the world.

Schley continued:

We believe that by bringing the brightest minds from varied disciplines together, we can create new ideas and business models in preparation for this new future of work in a post-pandemic world.

Work on the Move 3 is the newest edition in this award-winning series of books that includes Work on the Move: Driving Strategy and Change in Workplaces (2011), and Work on the Move 2: How Social, Leadership and Technology Innovations are Transforming the Workplace in the Digital Economy (2016).

Sponsored by Planon, FM:Systems, the Michael and Karen Schley Foundation, the NanSan Foundation, Unispace and IFMA’s Workplace Evolutionaries (WE), as well as other organizations, 100% of the book’s proceeds will support the mission of the IFMA Foundation’s Global Workforce Initiative (GWI).

Chapter 2: “The Hybrid Workplace, Reimagining the Future of Work After the Pandemic” can be downloaded for free from the IFMA Foundation website.

See also FMLink’s e-book, A Facilities Manager’s Guide to Reopening and Occupying Buildings Safely, which contains comprehensive reopening guidance and resources geared specifically towards building and facilities managers (FMs).