Hybrid work. Great for employees but maddening to many top executives — and the landlords that are desperate to get higher occupancy and keep ongoing office leases.

For the last year or so, many in CRE and in different industries have looked for the magic amenities that would entice people back to the office. For some time, there's been a school of thought that there aren't magic feature checklists that would work. As it turns out, there may be benefits that could help bring workers back to the office. But they vary and learning what will work takes significant effort.

"I spend my week mining, trying to find that information, as do a lot of the building owners and landlords sitting on all those properties," says Brian Parker, principal in the office workplace studio at design firm Cooper Carry. They want to know what to invest in to make buildings more attractive "and what the CEOs and C suites are looking for. What will make a building commute-worthy? It has to be something that impacts your life."