Should we stay or should we go?

A workplace strategy helps you decide

Just like the classic Clash punk rock anthem from the ‘80s, this question still hits hard — especially when it comes to your workplace! 

The pain of indecision is real, and for many organisations it’s a looming end of a lease that brings them the all-too-familiar dilemma: Should we stay, or should we go?

It’s a decision that feels even more complex when you’ve already poured significant funds into your current office — fit-outs, furniture, technology upgrades, signage and branding. Understandably, the instinct is to stay put and protect the sunk cost. But what if the space no longer serves your people, your operations, or your strategy?

At COMUNiTI we often hear: “We’ve spent so much on this space — wouldn’t investing in a workplace strategy just be wasted if we end up staying?”

The answer is no! 

Here’s why:

A workplace strategy isn’t about the building — it’s about your business

Workplace strategy isn’t just about moving or redesigning offices. It’s about gathering the data and insights you need to make the right decision — one grounded in evidence, not assumptions or emotional attachment.

A good workplace strategy process explores the uniqueness of how your people work, where and when they work best, how teams interact, your business vision, goals, plans, and values, and how your current space does or doesn’t support all of that. 

Whether you stay or go, a data-driven workplace strategy will give you a clear picture of how to align your physical workplace with performance, culture, and commercial goals.

Why staying might be the right move — but only if you know why

Sometimes a workplace strategy leads executive teams to the decision to stay — and that’s a good thing! 

Whaaaaat??? Yep, we heard that collective gasp! Hear us out…

Staying is a good thing if you’re staying for the right reasons: the location still suits your workforce, the bones of the space work well, or your lease gives you a competitive advantage. 

But crucially, by going through the workplace strategy process you’ll have the insights and data you need to stay with confidence. And, you’ll also understand how to better optimise and uplift the space you have to improve productivity and make your space work harder for the return on investment per square meter — whether that’s reconfiguring, right-sizing, or redefining how it’s used to better align with contemporary ways of working.

When sunk costs thinking gets risky 

Leaning too heavily on past investments to justify future choices can be dangerous. 

The costs of staying in an underperforming or misaligned space — talent attrition, collaboration breakdowns, cultural drift — are harder to see but much more expensive to your business in the long run.

The right workplace strategy helps you see those risks clearly. It gives People & Culture and Operations leaders the clarity and confidence to recommend a path forward that’s commercially sound and strategically aligned.

The bottom line

Whether you stay or go, investing in a workplace strategy ensures your next move — literally or figuratively — is the right one.

It’s not about justifying a move. It’s about ensuring your workplace supports the performance, engagement, and agility your business needs to thrive.

Cheers
Mel x