Managing the “Where” in Hybrid Work

Let’s be honest: hybrid work was never going to be as simple as “just let people choose.” When I went to work for the phone company (Pacific Bell) back in the 1990’s at their San Ramon, California headquarters, they were piloting a new shared collaboration “hotelling” space – a dedicated pod of cubicles where remote workers could drop in, leave their stuff for the day, and log in through a terminal to access all of their corporate resources. It was a fantastic resource…that was not used as much as you would think. Fast forward a few years and most companies are somewhere between chaotic coffee-shop freelancing energy and please-come-back-to-the-office-we-beg-you. Enter Microsoft Places—a new tool that’s quietly reshaping how we think about where work happens.

Now before you roll your eyes and mutter “great, another Teams thing,” hear me out. Microsoft Places is actually kind of cool. I say that as someone who’s spent way too many hours helping teams untangle the spaghetti mess of hybrid schedules, double-booked meeting rooms, and “wait, are they in the office today or not?” pings.

So… What Is Microsoft Places?

Microsoft calls it a “connected workplace platform,” but here’s the plain-English version: Places helps you coordinate who’s working where, when, and why—and then makes your workplace smarter because of it.

Think of it as the brains behind flexible work. It uses AI to sync your calendar, meeting invites, building occupancy sensors (yep, those exist), and your coworkers’ locations so you’re not flying blind anymore. It’s like a social GPS for your workweek.

But this isn’t just a glorified desk-booking app. It’s about intentional presence—making your trips to the office actually useful, social, and worth putting on pants.

Core Features (aka, the “How It’s Actually Useful” Part)

Let’s break it down:

Smart Scheduling

Places helps you decide when to go into the office based on who else will be there. So instead of guessing whether it’s going to be tumbleweeds or team bonding, you get nudges like:

“Hey, your core team is planning to be in on Wednesday—might be a good day to show up.”

It’s like your calendar finally got some people skills.

• Workspace Coordination. Desk booking? Check. Room booking? Yep. But also: real-time info on what’s happening in the office. Events, who’s around, and where there’s actually a spot with sunlight and decent Wi-Fi.
• Utilization & Analytics. For the folks who worry about budgets and floor plans (hi, real estate managers!), Places gives you data on space usage. This is especially useful for those organizations with internal chargeback models. Are you paying for a ghost town on Thursdays? Now you’ll know. And maybe you’ll finally get the green light to redesign that sad, underused wing of cubicles.
• Integration with Teams & Outlook. You don’t have to adopt another tool with a new login. Places is baked into the Microsoft 365 tools you’re already using (or at least pretending to use while actually in Notion). It works across Teams and Outlook, so it’s already lurking in your digital workspace like a productivity ninja.
• AI-Enhanced Recommendations. Commute predictions. Suggestions for meeting locations based on attendees. Best days to come in for maximum collaboration. You get more than “bring your body to the office”—you get context.

Who Actually Benefits From This?

This isn’t just a tool for facilities managers or HR. Here’s who should care:

• Project managers: No more chasing your team to ask where they’ll be. You get visibility and can plan actual collaboration days, not just “oh, I guess we’re all in today by accident.”
• Developers: Hate surprise in-office days or empty ones? Now you can plan your in-person deep dives or whiteboard wars when it matters.
• Leaders: Want to rebuild some of that fading team cohesion? Places lets you create intentional moments of connection—without being the person who’s always sending “voluntary but strongly encouraged” office days.
• Facilities & Ops people: Finally, data you can act on. If parts of the office are consistently empty, you’ll know. If people love the kitchen table seating for collaboration, you’ll know that too.

What’s the Catch?

It’s not entirely free. Microsoft Places is part of Teams Premium, which—yes—costs extra. But if you already have Teams Premium (or were considering it for all the other cool stuff like meeting recaps, live translations, and webinar upgrades), then you’re already halfway there.

Also, there’s a bit of a ramp-up if your org isn’t already using things like occupancy sensors or structured desk booking systems. But even without the fancy IoT stuff, Places still gives you scheduling insights, collaboration signals, and people visibility using Teams and Outlook data.

Wait, Is This Big Brother?

Understandable concern. But no, Places isn’t tracking your every move like a dystopian office overlord. Microsoft’s sticking to its data protection policies (as always, see the fine print). You and your org have control over what’s tracked, shared, and used. You can also customize privacy settings by role, department, or individual.

TL;DR: It’s not about surveillance—it’s about smarter coordination.

Why Should You Actually Care?

Because hybrid work isn’t going away, and the chaos of “choose your own adventure” workweeks is getting old. Microsoft Places brings a layer of intentionality and intelligence that we’ve been missing.

It answers real questions like:

• When should I come in?
• Who else is in?
• Where should we meet?
• Are we using our office space well?
• Is anyone even sitting in that fancy focus pod we spent $15K on?

It helps your company support actual flexibility—not just the performative kind.

Final Thoughts

No, Microsoft Places isn’t going to solve all your hybrid work problems. But it might make them a whole lot more manageable. If you’ve ever spent time coordinating three calendars and five desks just to have a decent brainstorming session, this is for you. It’s smart, subtle, and lives where you already work. It’s the kind of tool that doesn’t shout, but quietly makes things better—like a great office manager, or that one team member who always brings snacks.

So if you’re serious about making hybrid work actually work—not just as a buzzword—Microsoft Places is worth a look. If you’d like to read more on Places, here’s the link to the official documentation.