The workplace of the future starts with one simple question: Does your day work?
In the middle of a conversation about what actually makes the working day easier, a customer said something that stuck with me: “It felt so good to finally be fully present.” And they were spot on, because in most workplaces, it's rare for people to be fully mentally present all the time.
This opinion piece was originally published in HRnytt on 21 January 2026.
Many of us go through our working days with half our attention elsewhere – dwelling on tasks outside of work and small crises between meetings: remembering that we have to pick up that dry cleaning before six o'clock, that the tyres need changing, or that we absolutely have to send that parcel today.
Slowly but surely, these invisible distractions drain focus.
And then it struck me: many organisations overestimate the power of big strategies and underestimate the impact of simply making people’s everyday lives work. Perhaps this is where modern working life has stalled. For years, leaders have discussed hybrid models, shorter working weeks, and culture building.
But an employee’s day is shaped by much more down-to-earth questions:
Does my day work?
Does it feel light – or heavy?
Are things flowing smoothly – or getting stuck?
Does my day give me energy – or drain it?
The Swedish Work Environment Authority warns that a lack of opportunity for recovery during the working day is one of the greatest stress risk factors workers face.
Microsoft’s Work Trend Index suggests the same thing: over 60 per cent of employees struggle with microstresses – those small, constant interruptions that slowly drain their energy.
The WHO and ILO agree: the problem is not the work itself, but the loss of control over time. It’s not the job that wears us out – it’s the friction surrounding us. And that friction is not some big dramatic event: it’s the sum of a thousand small things. It's this 'life puzzle' that those in charge have long considered beyond their influence.
But it is within reach – and leaders can begin to make a difference by shaping the conditions that surround this puzzle.
At our campus in Kista, where more than 40 companies are based, we have noticed something: people no longer choose offices only for their address or design furniture. They choose based on how well the day works.
It’s about making things easier. A gym a few floors down. A café around the corner. A dog daycare centre nearby. Service partners who take care of workers' cars or send parcels for them. It’s about removing the friction that is contributing to modern fatigue – and giving people back all those little bits of their day.
This kind of simplicity creates a peace that no mandatory office policy in the world can achieve through force.
For me, this is what modern leadership is all about. What do you think – does this ring true for you? It’s less about introducing another activity or policy and instead about removing unnecessary obstacles.
Giving people the chance to be present without a constant stream of thoughts in the background about how to balance work with their everyday life.
A workplace should not be a logistical battlefield. Instead, it should be a support system – a place you leave standing slightly taller than when you arrived.
So, the next time you ask yourself how to get people back to the office, instead, ask a more relevant question: Does being here make my day easier than working from home? If the answer is yes, then the working life of the future has already begun.
Yusse Ibrahim
Key Account Manager Technopolis Kista yusrizal.ibrahim@technopolis.se +46 706 004 659