Facilities and workplace

Facilities is invisible when it works and is the loudest topic in the company when it does not. It is also, after payroll, frequently the largest fixed commitment a business makes.

Occupational health and safety, accessibility, and building compliance are legally regulated and vary by jurisdiction — and in the United States by state as well as federally. This structures the decision and names what to ask; it is not a substitute for qualified advice or a licensed inspection.

Space follows how people actually work

Plan from observed attendance, not from headcount or from policy. A hybrid organization with a three-day expectation does not need desks for everyone, and does need more of the rooms people compete for — small meeting spaces and focus rooms, which are chronically undersupplied because they are easy to convert into desks.