A new approach to workplaces

For decades, organisations have viewed the functions of People & Culture and Property as separate entities. 

The former focused on workforce engagement, talent strategies, and leadership development, while the latter managed physical workspaces as financial assets, often sitting under Finance or Operations. 

But what if the future of work calls for a fundamental shift — one where workplaces are no longer just ‘assets’ to optimise, but strategic tools designed to enhance human potential?

At LEGO, they’ve already embraced this shift. Their workplace function now reports into their Chief People Officer, rather than Operations or Finance. Why? Because as workplace leaders at LEGO explain, when you see real estate as an asset, you focus on optimising the space itself. But under People & Culture, the goal shifts from optimising an asset based on cost and efficiency, to maximising people’s performance potential.

This subtle change is reframing how organisa...