Workplace strategist Corina Ocanto on designing for trust, culture, and freedom
Jose Cruz Jr
Apr 25, 2025
Workplace strategist Corina Ocanto on designing for trust, culture, and freedom
In this episode of Buildings 2.0, I sat down with Corina Ocanto, VP of Workplace Strategy at Stream Realty, to talk about what’s actually driving the workplace conversation right now.
It’s not just remote vs. return. The real question is:
How do you design workplaces—and policy—for a world where work looks totally different than it did five years ago?
Corina has helped Fortune 500s, startups, banks, and creative companies navigate this exact challenge.
Here’s what she’s seeing—and what you can take away.
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1. Office mandates don’t work. Alignment does.
The 5-day RTO decree may make headlines, but it’s usually not grounded in data.
Most companies enforcing strict mandates are doing so from a place of anxiety, not strategy.
Meanwhile, the most effective teams Corina sees:
Align space with their business goals (talent retention, collaboration, innovation)
Use space intentionally, not as a default
Recognize that top performers value autonomy—and they have options elsewhere if you take it away
“Remote work, hybrid work, in-person—it’s just another variable. The question is: are you using it to meet your goals, or are you just reacting to someone else’s playbook?”
And the numbers back her up:
In a 2024 KPMG survey, 79% of CEOs predicted employees would return full-time in the next 3 years. But Gallup found that 60% of remote-capable employees want long-term hybrid work—and only 20% want to be fully on-site.
That disconnect isn’t just philosophical—it’s shaping attrition, morale, and real estate decisions in every market.
Takeaway:
If you’re designing a hybrid model, don’t aim for control. Aim for clarity.
Be honest about what’s working and what’s not. Then, build your workplace policies with your managers and employees—not around them.
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2. Culture isn’t coffee or ping pong. It’s how you work.
A lot of companies confuse perks with culture. But culture, Corina says, is operational.
It’s the unwritten rules that govern how people communicate, collaborate, and make decisions.
In real terms:
Do your teams talk across departments?
Are junior employees visible to leadership?
Can a new hire tell what your company values just by observing how meetings run?
“Culture is how you do your work. It’s not how many times you go for coffee or whether you have pizza Fridays—it’s what your day actually feels like.”
Hybrid adds friction here—but it also surfaces what was already broken.
According to Future Forum, hybrid workers score higher on productivity and work-life balance, but lower on connection. Meanwhile, executives often assume visibility = performance—but only 17% of execs want to work remotely full time, compared to over 50% of employees.
Takeaway:
Before investing in new layouts or amenities, audit your workflows.
Design for relationship density—build spaces that create the chance encounters that drive innovation. If your café is empty all day, it’s not the space. It’s the behavior you’re not designing for.
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3. Don’t roll out space without data.
Corina’s strategy always starts with questions.
She asks leaders:
What’s changed in your business recently?
What are your people struggling with?
What have you already tried that failed?
And she pushes teams to pilot ideas before they scale them.
Too often, leadership rolls out top-down initiatives that sound good but haven’t been tested—only to find the adoption rate is low, or the change causes backlash.
“Almost nobody comes to me and says, ‘I want to run a pilot.’ But they should. Pilots build confidence and consensus—and they reduce the cost of being wrong.”
Data from CBRE and JLL show why this matters:
Average office leases are now 21–32% smaller than pre-2020, and vacancy rates are hitting all-time highs.
But instead of canceling leases, most large firms are renewing in place—and experimenting.
42% of companies now use flex space. With, 86% say it’s a permanent part of their strategy
Takeaway:
Build confidence with low-risk experiments.
Run short pilots. Gather feedback. Track engagement—not just attendance.
Then scale what works. It’s slower, but it sticks.
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4. Remote doesn’t mean disconnected. But disconnection is real.
Corina is clear: space still matters. Even if you’re hybrid or remote, people need places to belong, collaborate, and connect with a mission.
Yes, remote is productive. But too much disconnection has real costs:
Declining engagement
Weaker relationships across teams
Onboarding challenges and retention issues
“I made most of my adult friends at work. That matters. If people aren’t getting connection from the office, they have to find it somewhere else—and that’s not always easy.”
The stats back this up:
Office attendance has stabilized at ~54% of pre-pandemic levels, with peak days on Tuesday (63%) and ghost towns by Friday (36%).
People come in for connection—not routine work. And while only 2 in 10 remote-capable employees are fully on-site now, Gallup finds engagement is lowest among fully in-office teams.
Takeaway:
“If space is a product, your people are the customers.”
Design the office like a product.
Who’s it for?
What’s the primary use case?
How will you measure success?
And remember: most people won’t come in “just because.” They need a reason—so give them one through programming, intentional layout, and leadership participation.
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5. Experience is the new amenity.
Pickleball courts. On-site cafes. Coffee bars that actually buzz with life.
We’re seeing a shift: it’s not just about square footage anymore—it’s about feeling.
Corina put it best:
“Yes, you can sell fun. But what you’re really offering is a reason to be here—an experience people want to have again.”
In a world where culture lives partially online, companies need to give people a reason to feel something when they walk into a physical space.
And it’s showing up in leasing trends.
Office demand has split: outdated Class B/C space is sitting empty, but modern Class A buildings with amenities are winning deals. These “trophy” buildings are leasing better—even as tenants downsize.
Takeaway:
Look beyond desks and meeting rooms.
Build a shared café instead of kitchens on every floor
Create zones for collaboration and quiet focus
Don’t be afraid to surprise people with something delightful
People come to places that spark energy. They stay for connection and purpose.
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Final Word: Spaces Still Matter
Corina closed the conversation with a point that’s both practical and human:
Spaces still matter—because we still need each other.
“We’re humans who live beyond just the house. Public spaces matter. Offices matter. And meeting other people in person still matters.”
Yes, remote work is here to stay—but the office isn’t dead. It just needs to earn its place by being useful, intentional, and worth showing up for.
For multi-location operators and workplace strategists: this isn’t about reverting.
It’s about rebuilding—with clarity, culture, and connection at the core.
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Listen to Corina's full episode on Buildings 2.0 on Spotify or Youtube.
Corina’s insights are required listening for anyone navigating workplace change—especially real estate leaders, HR teams, and founders trying to design for what’s next.
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If you enjoyed this, you'd also enjoy these previous Buildings 2.0 episodes:
CREcolve's Charlie Morris on Flexible Future's in Brokerage
Collier's Michael Cohen on Creative Uses of Space in Commercial Real Estate
Cushman & Wakefield's Gary Cedar on Transitioning Remote to Office
Sources
CBRE U.S. Office Occupier Sentiment Survey (2024) – Trends in lease size, renewals, and flex space adoption.
Gallup Workplace Insights (2022–2024) – Remote-capable job data, employee engagement, and preferred work models.
Future Forum Pulse Reports (2023) – Executive vs. employee sentiment on remote work and hybrid productivity.
KPMG CEO Outlook (2024) – Executive predictions about returning to the office.
JLL Future of Work Survey (2023) – Forecast on flex office growth and office space demand shifts.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – Occupational remote work trends across industries (2019–2023).
Kastle Systems Back to Work Barometer – Office occupancy rates across U.S. metro areas.
LinkedIn Economic Graph – Job postings and application trends related to remote work.
Gensler Global Workplace Surveys – Occupant experience and amenity trends in office design.
Indeed Hiring Lab – Remote job listing rates (pre- and post-pandemic).
Harvard Business School & Future of Work Studies – Return-to-office divergence between executives and employees.