In this field-based case, Nate Bennett, the global head of biostatistics and programming, rare disease, at UCB, Inc. (UCB), chairs the Raleigh site leadership team, which helps manage all 250 UCB employees in the Raleigh office. In February 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be receding, and Bennett must chart a path forward on a return to the office. But UCB employees have gotten used to working at home with their global teams and have done so effectively for almost two years. Many companies face the same problem, but UCB’s transition back to the office is more challenging than usual, because the office is brand new and great efforts were taken to ensure that employees were part of the office’s design efforts. Many employees have never even set foot in the place.

During the pandemic, UCB worked with Gensler, a design and consulting firm, to choose a new office location, design the facility, and manage the change throughout the process. UCB wanted a new space that focused on collaboration and interaction in an open floor plan. When the process culminated in a beautiful new office in March 2021, COVID restrictions kept most people working at home. Now that COVID rates were falling and restrictions were lifting, would UCB employees return to the office? Could it be that after all the time and effort spent on creating the perfect workspace, employees didn’t want to use it the way it was designed to be used? This case offers the chance for rich discussions around leadership, managing change, and adapting to new workplace standards brought about by the pandemic.

This case is used at Darden in the core Leading Organizations course for executive MBAs in the module on organizational change. It would also be suitable in Executive Education courses covering change and change management or in any MBA or Executive Education class that focuses on change, change management, or changes in the workplace as a result of COVID.