Work Then Place: Redefining How (and Where) Work Happens

What's Your Work Fit?, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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On What’s Your Work Fit?, Dan Smolen, Mark Gilbreath, and Fran Saele are joined by workplace strategists and authors Sara Escobar and Corinne Murray to unpack their influential book, WORK Then PLACE: Navigating Modern Work & Where It Happens.

At a time when organizations are wrestling with return-to-office mandates, AI disruption, and shifting employee expectations, this conversation challenges a deeply ingrained assumption: Should we design the workplace first—or the work itself?

Sara and Corinne argue convincingly that work must come first—and that everything else, including place, should follow.

🧠 Key Themes & Insights

1. Work Then Place—Not the Other Way Around

  • Many organizations still default to designing offices first and forcing work into them.
  • The authors advocate for a flipped model:
    • Define the what and why of work
    • Understand how work actually happens
    • Then design places (physical, digital, experiential) to support it
  • “If you build it, they will come” no longer applies in modern work.

2. The “Place-First” Trap and Return-to-Office (RTO) Tension

  • Companies are reverting to rigid office mandates driven largely by fear:
    • Financial pressure
    • Leadership uncertainty
    • AI anxiety
  • This has created a “we built it, now you must come” dynamic.
  • The hosts and guests explore whether this is a temporary pendulum swing or a lasting shift.

3. AI as the Next Great Disruptor of Work

  • Unlike the pandemic (which changed where work happened), AI is transforming what work is.
  • Key implications:
    • Compression of tasks → increased cognitive load
    • Potential rise in burnout despite “efficiency gains”
    • Redefinition of roles toward strategy, storytelling, and human connection
  • AI may not eliminate work—but it will reshape it profoundly.

4. Human Skills Become the Differentiator

  • As automation expands, uniquely human capabilities gain value:
    • Socialization and connection
    • Cross-functional storytelling
    • Nonlinear thinking
  • Rather than diminishing, human interaction may become more critical in AI-enabled workplaces.

5. Behavior Change Is the Hardest Challenge

  • Organizations struggle not from lack of knowledge—but from resistance to change.
  • Leaders often default to familiar models that made them successful.
  • The book provides a repeatable framework to guide better decision-making at scale.

6. Employee Experience = Operational Advantage

  • Workplace experience has long been dismissed as “nice to have” or “cultural confetti.”
  • Escobar and Murray reframe it as:
    • A core operational driver
    • Directly tied to productivity, engagement, and business outcomes
  • Better work design = better organizational performance.

🔄 The Big Idea

We’ve never truly designed work—only where it happens.
This episode challenges leaders to rethink everything:

👉 Work is not a place
👉 Work is a system
👉 And it must be designed intentionally

💡 Memorable Moments

  • “Place is the low-hanging fruit—but not the starting point.”
  • “Return-to-office is being driven by fear—not necessarily what works best.”
  • “AI isn’t just changing work—it’s compressing it.”
  • “Socialization may be our greatest human superpower in an AI-driven world.”

🎯 Who Should Listen

  • Business leaders navigating hybrid and return-to-office strategies
  • HR and workplace experience professionals
  • Anyone concerned about AI’s impact on jobs and teams
  • Professionals seeking better alignment between work, life, and purpose

🔗 Learn More

📢 Call to Action

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with five colleagues or friends who are rethinking their own work fit.