They say the only constant in life is change. The same might be said of the workplace. How and where we work is constantly changing, perhaps never more so than in the past few years.

For the 2024 edition of HOK Forward, our annual deep dive into the state of the workplace, HOK surveyed organizations from across three broad sectors of the economy—legal, government and professional services—to see how they are using the office in the wake of the pandemic.

Their responses mirror those of many of our clients in those sectors. Most have adopted a hybrid work policy allowing for a mixture of in-person and remote work. How these organizations implement this hybrid approach, however, can differ dramatically. Some see employees in the workplace a few times a month, while others tend to be in the office a few times a week.

One thing all organizations have in common is a re-evaluation of the workplace in response to a core question: "If people can work effectively from home, how can the office add value?"

Each chapter of this year's Forward addresses that core question.

- In The Evolution of Work and Workplace, we provide an overview of the modern workplace and how organizations from across sectors are using workspace variety, amenities and a focus on well-being and inclusion to revitalize the office.

- In our Legal chapter, HOK's Caitlin Turner and Tara Roscoe outline how law firms are creating flexible new workspaces that provide individual autonomy while supporting organizational goals.

- In our Professional Services chapter, authors Stephen Beacham, Jennifer Brayer and Beth Ann Christiansen share how companies are using the workplace to engage with clients and win new business.

- And in our Government chapter, authors Barb Anderson-Kerlin, Jessica Collins and Margaret McDonald spell out how government agencies are reshaping their offices around sustainability, well-being and equity to improve the experience for civil servants and the general public who also frequent these spaces.

All these sectors share another commonality: They are using design to change the narrative of the office. Instead of being a place people feel compelled to visit, they are making the office a place people want to visit.

That is change we fully embrace.