What is the office actually for?

It's a question that many organizations are still wrestling with as they balance flexibility, collaboration, employee expectations, and business performance. At Cisco Live, I sat down with Christian Bigsby, Senior Vice President of Workplaces at Cisco, to discuss how the role of the workplace is changing and why measuring success by attendance alone may no longer make sense.

Christian shares how Cisco has rethought the relationship between people, place, and technology, bringing together teams that traditionally operated separately to create a more connected workplace experience. Rather than focusing on how many employees are in the office, the conversation centers on the outcomes that become possible when people come together with purpose.

We explore how hybrid work has reshaped workplace strategy, why employee experience has become a business priority, and how organizations can create environments that support collaboration, innovation, learning, and culture. Christian also explains why flexibility should not be viewed as a perk but as an important part of helping employees do their best work.

The conversation also looks at the growing role of AI in workplace operations. From forecasting occupancy and improving space utilization to helping organizations make smarter decisions about resources and services, AI is helping workplace leaders respond to a level of variability that traditional operating models were never designed to handle.

Along the way, Christian offers thoughtful insights on leadership, trust, organizational culture, and why the future workplace may have more in common with a dynamic service than a fixed location.

If you've ever wondered whether the future of work is about where people work, how they work, or why they come together in the first place, this conversation offers plenty to think about.

What do you believe makes a workplace valuable in 2026, attendance, experience, outcomes, or something else entirely?