🌊The Hotelification of Work
Why Work is Not a Hotel
Last time, we explored how work is a lived experience, shaped not just by tasks but by identity, belonging, and engagement. But what happens when organisations start designing it like a luxury service, focusing on amenities rather than meaningful participation?
In recent years, workplace strategy has leaned heavily on hospitality design. Organisations talk about ‘delighting’ employees, curating ‘experiences,’ and offering services that mirror high-end hotels—concierge desks, barista coffee, curated wellness programs. The logic is clear: if employees enjoy coming to the office, they’ll be more engaged and productive.
But does an over-reliance on this approach to workplace experience actually serve its purpose? Or might it serve to diminish it, reducing work to something transactional—an experience to be consumed rather than a space to contribute, struggle, and grow?
The Rise of Workplace Hospitality
The shift towards workplace-as-hospitality is partly a response to changing workforce expectations. Tech campuses led the way, designing offices filled with free meals, nap pods, and perks that blurred the lines between work and leisure. The pandemic accelerated this trend, as organisations sought to lure employees back to the office with premium coffee, ergonomic lounges, and wellness programs.
This hospitality mindset assumes that a better ‘experience’ makes for a better workplace. But it’s worth asking: what kind of experience are we actually designing?
The Problem with the Guest Mentality
When workplaces take too many cues from hotels, they risk fostering a passive relationship between employees and their environment. In a hotel, guests expect to be served. Their role is to consume, not contribute. But work is not a weekend retreat—it is a place where individuals actively shape their surroundings, engage in complex problem-solving, and forge connections through shared effort.
This matters because meaningful work is not always ‘delightful.’ It involves challenge, friction, and growth. A workplace designed around hospitality risks smoothing out the very tensions that drive innovation, collaboration, and personal development.
Workplace as a Community of Practice
So, if work is not a hotel, what is it?
A more useful way to think about workplace experience is as a community of practice—a shared space where individuals contribute, learn, and evolve together. Unlike a hotel, where guests passively receive services, a community of practice thrives on active engagement. Employees are not customers to be served but co-creators of their work environment, shaping its culture and direction through participation and shared purpose. Rather than designing work as a service to be consumed, organisations should focus on designing workplaces that support active participation, knowledge exchange, and a sense of belonging.
This means:
Designing ways of working that encourage contribution and shared ownership, rather than passive consumption.
Fostering environments where friction and challenge are seen as part of meaningful work, rather than something to be eliminated.
Recognising that true engagement comes not from perks, but from a sense of purpose and shared endeavour.
Your Course to Set
Put your toe in: Think about a time when your most meaningful work came from struggle rather than comfort. Did excessive ease or convenience ever make your work feel less engaging or meaningful? How did that experience shape you?
Take the plunge: If a workplace shouldn’t function like a hotel, what kind of experience should it provide instead?
Coming next: If designing work like a hotel turns employees into passive consumers, what about the growing trend of making work ‘frictionless’—like a well-designed app? In our final piece, we’ll challenge the idea that smooth, seamless work experiences always lead to better outcomes.