As the economist Milton Friedman once said, Only a crisisactual or perceivedproduces real change. Humanity has of course been faced with countless crises, leading to profound and often unexpected change. These crises define and differentiate generations and leave lasting impacts for years to come.In 2020, a crisis that would change everything hit the world seemingly overnight. Everyone remembers where they were the day the world shut down. Offices stood empty. Cars, previously stuck in traffic on daily commutes, sat parked in driveways. Trains and buses ran empty, if at all. The bustle of Times Square turned silent and Broadway went dark. As smog cleared from cities like Los Angeles and Mumbai, people started to see views lost for decades. Billions of meetings switched to virtual platforms. For many people across the globe, work would never be the same again.Even before COVID-19, the rapid rate of transformation in the workplace was extraordinary. In the 1970s there were typewriters, landline phones, and filing cabinets. In the 80s, the fax machine became an office staple. Before long, some lucky people got their hands on a mobile phone. Then, the information superhighway arrived, and with it, email, social media, cloud storage, and collaboration software became the new normal. Desktop technology gave way to mobile working. Digital natives were the majority; digital nomads were on the rise. There were apps for everything. Flexible working and work-life balance became hot topics.But, in many ways, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a devastating period for so many people across the globe, has been remarkable. It has compressed the impact equivalent to all the changes of the previous half a century into a few short years and it has been to the great benefit of both companies and their people.The office as a digital constructWith rapid advancements in technology, where work is conducted is no longer confined to a singular place. The workplace is now a digital construct. The office is on the cloud, and people are increasingly linked by technology. All the information, resources, and connectivity that billions of us need to do our jobs are distilled into a single portable device and people can now use an app to find their workplacefor the hour, the day, or the week.This shift is radically transforming how and where people work, and a companys head office no longer has the monopoly on where work can take place. As a result, hybrid and more flexible ways of working have become more common for a significant proportion of white-collar workers, with companies enabling their employees to work across multiple locations.Stanford University Professor Nicholas Blooms groundbreaking research has shown that hybrid working is very profitable for firms. His compelling findings have highlighted that hybrid working has no negative effect on productivity while significantly reducing costly employee turnover. This is why some 80% of Fortune 500 companies embrace hybrid working for managers and professionals.The office isnt deadOver the past few months, there has been a lot of news about more rigid Return-to-Office (RTO) mandates and how theyve been gaining significant momentum amongst companies of all sizes.The trend is unmistakably taking place with companies prioritizing time for their teams to collaborate in person on a regular basis. However, where and how people work is actually far more nuanced than a binary choice between working from a traditional city center office or from home.Theres a third option: working out of a local coworking space or office, near to home, with other like-minded people. In fact, most white-collar employees are working from a combination of all three of these locations and this is evident in our network at IWG, with our centers in the heart of the suburbs and local communities showing the strongest increase in demand from across the network, while cities also continue to thrive.Better for the bottom line and better for the planetA very clear advantage of todays hybrid revolution is a reduction in costs, for businesses and employees alike. Independent research from Global Workplace Analytics reveals that reducing their traditional property footprint by adopting hybrid working enables companies to realize average annual savings per employee of $11,000.The financial implications of more localized work are also sizable for employees. Research conducted by IWG and Development Economics has shown that workers could save as much as $30,000 per year if they switch from commuting to a city center daily to working locally four days a week. This is particularly relevant for younger, lower-paid workers facing the challenging combination of student debt and the stubbornly high cost of living.Even these wins fade into insignificance when compared with the savings that reduced commuting will make to the environmental price our planet is paying for those who are able to reduce their commutes and work closer to home. Businesses can also cut energy usage by a fifth (19%) because of the more efficient use of office space or by providing teams access to flexible workspace.Furthermore, International Workplace Group research conducted with sustainable development consultancy Arup has shown that a hybrid working model that combines a local flex space and home produces fewer carbon emissions than any other permutation of working. The study found that, in cities in both the U.S. and the U.K., the reduction in emissions brought by this model could be as high as 90% in the U.S. (Atlanta) and 80% in the U.K. (Glasgow).The productivity gains of hybrid working and tackling proximity biasThe recent shift to more flexible ways of working has resulted in some instances of what academics describe as proximity bias. This is when business leaders and senior managers treat workers who are physically closer to them more favorably, stemming in some instances from an outdated assumption that those who work remotely are less productive than those who work from a companys headquarters. All business leaders should remember that what your people are doing and how youre managing them are by far the most important factors in performance and productivity.If work isnt being carried out effectively, its not the fault of the location. Its generally the fault of management not making job expectations clear or setting good KPIs. Those problems will be the same whether your teams are sitting 10 feet away from you, or a local office or even 1,000 miles away.A number of convincing studiesincluding those conducted by Professor Bloommhave shown productivity increases (3% to 4%) and reduced quit rates (35%) as a hallmark of hybrid working. International Workplace Groups own research with business leaders backs up these findings. In a recent survey of more than 500 business leaders in the U.S. and the U.K., more than 6 in 10 cite improved productivity as one of the key business benefits, while 7 in 10 CEOs highlight that employee happiness has increased through the adoption of hybrid working.Looking to the futureWhen nearly 20 years ago, I first made a comment about the rise of hybrid and more flexible ways of working, I could have never predicted the precise forces that would bring it about. In years to come the COVID-19 pandemic will rightfully be seen as having one of the most transformative impacts on the world of work as any other event in the past 100 years. It compressed the impact equivalent to all the changes of the previous half a century into a few short years.We are now seeing companies rapidly learn how to manage dispersed workforces using the latest technology and new management techniques while improving the happiness and the work-life balance of their teams.I can safely say that the office will always play a crucial role in corporate life. Headquarters have evolved to become hubs of creativity and connection, with intentional spaces and activities to maximize collaboration. At the same time, companies are increasingly empowering their teams to stay productive by working closer to home in workspaces near where people actually live. These permanent shifts are providing incredible momentum for the flexible workspace sector. We are seeing the most rapid growth we have experienced in our 35 years of operations. All of this confirms the reality. The office isnt deadand never will beits just moved to a much more convenient place.