For World FM Day 2026, IWFM’s Strategic Leaders’ Forum is celebrating by publishing an international perspective on some of the most impactful themes within FM across the world this year.
Speaking to SLF and Rising FMs volunteer Bernard Crouch, five participants from across the continents put forward their views on sustainability, inclusivity, AI, productivity and more.
An IWFM video, linked here, showcases the conversations.
One emerging element under discussion – closely linked to this year’s World FM Day’s theme of ‘cultivating belonging through the built environment’ – is that of the way FMs perceive the buildings they manage. In 2026, are they seen as managed assets or social environments?
UK — Roderick Miller, Head Of Workplace Operations & Experience, UKTV
“I don’t think it’s either/or anymore. The challenge for workplace is finding the balance. Yes, the workspace is a managed asset; it costs money, it needs to perform, has to be safe, compliant and efficient.
“But if we only manage it as an asset, we miss its true value. The workplace is fundamentally a social environment. It enables people to come together, be in the same space, share ideas and get that sense of belonging.
“Organisations that do this well treat the workplace as a platform. It supports numerous ways of working. It’s able to bring several different types of people together with a shared purpose, and it also reinforces what it’s like to be part of an organisation, rather than just somewhere where people come and sit and work.
USA — Wojciech Gracz, President, Tersus Inc.
“In the USA, the workplace is currently evolving from a managed asset into a hybrid system that functions as a critical social environment. We have the workplace as a managed asset where we can see data-driven space utilisation. We have return to office strategies being implemented, and we also see productivity monitoring.
“Then, when we look at the workplace as a social environment, it is a generator of social capital, a place for collaboration and mentoring, and it’s a place where we combat loneliness. Workplaces are often the primary source of social connection outside of the family.
“There is a trend in the US moving toward integrating two ideas: One is hybrid by default, the second is purposeful presence. Hybrid, as we know, has become the norm, with teams using in-office days for collaboration and socialisation. Remote days are for deep work in purposeful presence. Companies are encouraging team-based attendance for specific social and creative tasks.
“Leadership in the US tends to view the office as a managed asset, while employees often treat it as a social environment where they value relationships and flexibility. Of course, the most effective workplaces in the US are those that intentionally combine both practices.
Nigeria — Tunde Obileye, Nigeria Region Chair, IWFM
“It’s a bit of both, an asset and a social environment. It’s an asset from the standpoint that whoever built the environment expects some returns on investment. To that extent, it is an asset being managed to retain its value over time. But it is also a social environment, because end users see it as an environment for them to carry out their daily activities in whatever form, whatever it is.”
Netherlands — Stan Ottevanger, Senior Project Manager Real Estate & Workspace Services, Booking.com
“For us, it’s definitely a social environment. The workplace is where we enable social cohesion to make sure there are real connections between colleagues. Within booking.com we see that connection also drives innovation, but also frees up barriers in decision-making, making things more agile. It is definitely considered a social environment and very important for us as an organisation.”
Thailand — Ek Buranakal, EuroFM Ambassador for Thailand
“Right now in Thailand, it’s more like a managed asset; however, it has started to move on into the social environment, more on the inclusivity of the people from the building itself, from the place itself, to be more focused on people.
We just got a report, actually, I do the research for the past three years. Back, five years since Covid-19 in Thailand, the workplace itself has changed quite dramatically from just a place to work into more of what we call back here in Thailand, the ‘dopamine workplace’, a place where you can actually enhance your dopamine on site, happiness side, on… creativity side, and also a lot of places where you can choose to work more productively.
