HR professionals and organizational leaders gathered on February 10, 2026, at the event “Work Environments in 2026”, organized by Art Set by GAEP and BusinessMark.
The event brought together seven industry specialists at the GAEP art gallery to discuss emerging directions in workplace environments, focusing on the impact of art in office spaces on employee creativity and engagement, psycho-emotional wellbeing and psychological safety at work, as well as the sense of purpose in the age of artificial intelligence.
The event began with a guided tour led by Andrei Breahnă, Founder, Art Set by GAEP.
“People are expected to be creative, to use their imagination and to innovate. In the companies we collaborate with, we’ve seen this triangle: imagination – creativity – innovation. It seems you cannot innovate if you are not creative. And we become creative when we are exposed to creativity. Surrounded by art every day at the office, we can gain productivity, wellbeing and purpose. Contemporary art has become much more about thinking, about generating ideas and concepts. It encourages you to look beyond the image. That is where the value lies,” he explained.
The guided tour was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Andreea Drăgan, Co-founder, BusinessMark. The invited speakers were: Mirela Stere (HR and Internal Communication Director, Macromex), Ileana Alexandru (HR Vice President, MEGA IMAGE), Adina Vidroiu (HR Director North Cluster – Central Europe, Microsoft), Iuliana Hulea (Senior HR Services Specialist, Schneider Electric), Laurențiu Lazăr (Managing Partner, Colliers International Romania), Marius Istrate (Chairman of the Board, TechAngels Romania) and Andrei Breahnă (Founder, Art Set by GAEP).
The invited leaders explored how workplace identity directly influences employee experience.
Mirela Stere (HR and Internal Communication Director, Macromex) emphasized the importance of preserving a team’s “spirit” during a headquarters relocation:
“Each of us seeks positive experiences that improve us. We used to have an interesting office – a heritage house – and before the pandemic we moved into a glass building. We felt then that we had lost part of our identity. When art entered our offices, we felt we had regained it. Starting this year, we even brought art into one of our logistics platforms.”
Beyond the physical environment, a central theme of the debate was the balance between technology and the human factor. Ileana Alexandru (HR Vice President, MEGA IMAGE) spoke about the need for psychological safety in an era of accelerated technological transformation:
“Every invention in human history could be used positively or negatively, depending on whose hands it was in. Technology is a tool – people must always remain in control. From an organizational perspective, one solution is psychological safety. People have entered a zone of fear because at the beginning of a new era they don’t know what will happen to them. It is important to communicate that in this transformation we will take them with us. That means reskilling and upskilling. In front of technology, people feel powerless. Curiosity and learning only happen within a safe environment,” she explained.
This need for adaptation is also reflected in the structure of work, where the concept of the “office” has ceased to be merely a place of physical presence. Adina Vidroiu (HR Director North Cluster – Central Europe, Microsoft) explained the transition from individual productivity to collective productivity:
“When we talk about the work environment, we still refer to hybrid work. Some organizations are moving toward a full return to the office, but I believe we will not return to what we had before, because work behavior has changed. During the pandemic, people were much more productive working from home, based on our internal studies. At this moment, we are shifting from individual productivity to collective productivity – when we come to the office, it is a space where we collaborate and work together on shared projects.”
In this new context, workplace design must respond to employees’ emotional needs, transforming the office into a destination, as Laurențiu Lazăr (Managing Partner, Colliers International Romania) highlighted:
“From the beginning, we believed the office is, first and foremost, for people. We conducted a survey with a 78% response rate, asking what atmosphere the office should communicate. They had three options: an industrial mood, a tech mood, and a family mood. Colleagues wanted natural plants on the walls, wood finishes. It also matters what you do with that space – we try to create as many contexts as possible, one of them being Colliers Talks. It’s not enough to design an office; you must create reasons for people to come there,” he explained.
Flexibility and respect for people remain essential elements in retention strategies. Iuliana Hulea (Senior HR Services Specialist, Schneider Electric) offered an example of how nostalgic elements can anchor a team in a new headquarters:
“We changed offices last year – we continue to operate in a hybrid model, which places flexibility at the center of the company. We ensured there are spaces where colleagues feel encouraged to have discussions, to create, and at the end of the day to enjoy the outcome of those discussions. Even though we moved into a tower building, we made sure there were windows that open, and we wanted to preserve part of the nostalgia of our former office, because that is what colleagues wished for,” she explained.
Looking toward 2026, the work environment gains a new dimension through the active integration of artificial intelligence. Marius Istrate (Chairman of the Board, TechAngels Romania) presented a disruptive vision of future office roles:
“The work environment in 2026 is not just for people. It is for people and AI agents. In recent weeks, teams made up of people and AI agents have managed to complete in just a few days work that 50 people used to do in a month. We are witnessing a profound shift in the work environment – similar to the introduction of the computer or the mobile phone. If there is one thing I would like you to take away, it is that AI agents are extremely good at acquiring skills. They learn very quickly and learn from one another. However, they do not have intention; they exchange pieces of code to optimize their work, but without agency or morality. We are no longer simply users of technology at work – we are more like parents. We carry responsibility for how these AI agents execute their tasks,” he explained.
Andrei Breahnă (Founder, Art Set by GAEP) reaffirmed that all these transformations must be approached strategically, with art acting as a proven catalyst for innovation:
“We are facing a new horizon, and things must be approached strategically. Studies conducted over more than 20 years show the impact of art in the workplace. 34% of employees exposed to cultural and social events at the office feel inspired, compared to only 13% in organizations where such exposure does not exist. 75% of employees in workplaces where art is present prefer coming to the office over working from home. We must treat this seriously as part of company strategy. Research shows that art increases workplace innovation.”
“Work Environments in 2026” concluded with a personalized artistic activity designed to deepen the discussion around engagement and teamwork. Participants discovered how intuition, personal preferences, the power of choice and collective conversations about art can transform both a space and a situation.
The event was organized by Art Set by GAEP x BusinessMark.
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This article was originally published by BusinessMark and is reproduced here with credit to the original source.
