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A recent conversation with a commercial interior designer brought up something that
echoed a discussion I’d just had with a group of Emerging Leaders. There’s a disruption
happening in commercial real estate. It’s not making headlines, but in its own quiet way,
it’s a problem.
The industry struggling to attract and retain talent isn’t new. But when you pair that with
the reality that we’re designing workplaces fewer people actually want to be in, it
becomes something bigger.
And no, this isn’t about office attendance or whether there’s a coffee bar in the kitchen.
It’s about culture. It’s about structure. And it’s about whether the industry is actually
evolving at the pace people expect it to.
Because right now, there seems to be a disconnect.
On the one side is tradition based on hierarchical structures. Slow decision-making. And
limited visibility into career progression. And like with investors a tendency to prioritize
stability.
On the other side, you have a workforce that expects something very different. Clarity.
Purpose. Flexibility. Growth. And increasingly, environments, both physical and cultural,
that actually support how they work best.
This industry is not alone, most industries are grappling with what the future of the
office is going to look like – hybrid models – amenities – collaborative spaces. Don’t get me wrong where people work is an important consideration. I just don’t think we’ve spent
enough time on why they chose to.
There’s the “rub”.
Designing the perfect office doesn’t solve for a lack of engagement. Adding more
amenities doesn’t fix unclear career paths. And pushing return-to-office mandates
without addressing underlying cultural frictions only accelerates disengagement.
People aren’t opting out of buildings. They’re opting out of experiences that don’t feel
worth it.
And the data is starting to reflect that. And again, this is not just a challenge in
commercial real estate. Younger professionals are more open to moving between
industries. Or looking at adjacent sectors – tech, consulting, even infrastructure is
increasingly attractive because they offer clearer growth trajectories and a stronger
sense of momentum.
CRE, by comparison, feels hard to navigate unless you’ve been in it for years.
That’s a problem.
And that’s where the dichotomy is. The industry if becoming more complex, not less.
Buildings are no longer just physical spaces. They’ve become operational platforms. A
technician form 10 or 15 years ago would not have been asked about data, technology
and tenant experience. The skill sets are expanding quickly, but the talent pipeline isn’t
keeping up. And the traditional model is flagging. And I’m not sure we’ve even acknowledged this misalignment.
If we want to attract the next generation of talent, we need to do more than promote the industry. We need to rethink how it actually functions.
That means clearer pathways into the industry. More visible progression once you’re in
it. Faster adoption of technology that reduces friction, not adds to it. And a cultural shift
toward learning, experimentation, and yes, a bit of risk.
It also means being honest about what isn’t working.
Because right now, we’re asking people to buy into an industry that hasn’t fully
modernized itself, while expecting them to help modernize it.
That’s a tough sell.
The opportunity is there. This is still an industry with real impact. It shapes cities. It
influences how people live and work. It sits at the intersection of sustainability,
economics, and human experience.
But if we don’t align the experience of working in the industry with the spaces we’re
trying to create, we’re going to keep losing ground.
Quietly. Consistently. And at a cost that’s harder to measure, but impossible to ignore.
