I think the "lab space" requirement is going to drive a lot of the WFH-or-not office space planning among employers that don't fall into the "come in for no reason other than I said so" category.
In my case, I work in robotics. Somebody working on the perception stack software and going to the occasional zoom meeting has little reason to show up at the office beyond random hallway meetings and free micro-kitchen snacks. A machinist in the prototyping lab, on the other hand, needs to be in front of the giant, expensive CNC machine. For me personally, I have a mix of coding days and lab days, and WFH or go in according to the tasks of the day.
Clued-in companies are going to adjust their real-estate mix. I predict a drop in the fraction of commercial space that consists of carpeted offices.
In my case, I work in robotics. Somebody working on the perception stack software and going to the occasional zoom meeting has little reason to show up at the office beyond random hallway meetings and free micro-kitchen snacks. A machinist in the prototyping lab, on the other hand, needs to be in front of the giant, expensive CNC machine. For me personally, I have a mix of coding days and lab days, and WFH or go in according to the tasks of the day.
Clued-in companies are going to adjust their real-estate mix. I predict a drop in the fraction of commercial space that consists of carpeted offices.