Google Workspace announces innovations to bridge hybrid work gaps

These advancements include the rollout of spaces in Chat, along with new meeting enhancements and conferencing hardware to help organizations bridge the gaps as they navigate new hybrid work environments.

"As some people return to the office, teams need that ability to flexibly collaborate from anywhere, anytime," Google Workspace's Senior Director of Product Management, Sanaz Ahari, said in a statement.

"The innovations we're bringing to customers today help bridge the gaps of virtual and in-person collaboration. I'm especially excited about spaces -- a new, dedicated place in Google Workspace -- to share information, advance projects, and build community as teammates," Ahari added.

Spaces are unique in that they are tightly integrated with Google Workspace tools like Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and Tasks, providing a better way for people to engage in topic-based discussions, share knowledge and ideas, move projects forward and build communities and team culture.

Spaces help users to see the full history, context, and content of conversations, so everyone can follow along and jump in to contribute at any time.

In the coming weeks and months, Google will add even more unique features in spaces to help teams stay organized, the company said.

In addition to indicating the virtual or physical presence in meeting invites, team members can now set their working location in Calendar, regularly or by segmentable working hours.

Meet calling complements Meet's more structured, scheduled video meetings and better supports the ebbs and flows of hybrid work by allowing for more spontaneous connections.

Google intends to bring Meet calling to all the natural endpoints in Workspace where you'd initiate an ad-hoc call including chats, contact cards, and spaces, the company said.