The past two years have nudged the world to adapt to new ways of working. As we enter the new normal, employers are making informed decisions and considerations while reopening their workplaces and welcoming employees to a hybrid work model. The mass implementation of remote working was formerly understood to be a passing phase as we navigated how to manage work through the pandemic.
However, employees are now left to wonder whether their home offices and the accompanying benefits outweigh those offered by the physical office. In order to find the balance between both sides, we must maintain a future-centric and enterprising outlook to the diverse ways of working.
Through the course of the pandemic, we have witnessed an overwhelming response to remote working or work from home options, which also kick-started a domino effect in employee turnover rates. This stemmed from people opting to resign in favour of companies that acknowledge their employees’ preferred ways of working and offer a sense of autonomy in choice. Part of this was a symptom of ‘The Great Resignation’, a movement that saw employees quit their jobs in waves. It also encouraged the corporate world to re-evaluate and improve upon working conditions, including physical, mental and financial. Now, corporates are increasingly looking for means to provide or replicate the convenience of home offices and remote working set ups. In particular, these modes provide employees with independence, comfort, flexibility and economic value, which companies will need to factor in when building dynamic work environments to retain their workforce.
Ergonomic workstations
Employers must understand that the only constant is change if they attempt to not only meet, but exceed, their employees’ preferences. They will need to reassess their ‘ideal standards of working’ and overhaul their outlook on workplace efficiency, in order to facilitate an easy transition into the new normal. This can be achieved by keeping pace with their employees’ sentiments and building multi-use workspaces that can accommodate new lifestyle preferences. These workspaces can be adapted to fit and address a plethora of needs, to aid the user as well as their surroundings. This includes ergonomic height-adjustable or standing workstations to keep users active throughout the day, as well as moveable furniture that can be clustered together for team meetings, lunches or brainstorms.
The common workplace will need to be redesigned in order to cultivate a sense of inspiration and motivation among employees. They will also need to be reassured that their time spent commuting is worthwhile by omitting the obligation to mark their presence, thereby encouraging them to return to the office. Through the power of thoughtful and purposeful design, companies can create effective and impactful workplaces that foster creativity and excitement. These spaces will help boost the user’s experience, state-of-mind and outlook towards their work environment.
Organisations will also need to demonstrate their agility and adaptability by recreating the workplace in the mould of the adaptive and comfort-driven environment of the home office. Employees have grown accustomed to swapping their workstations from their beds and dining tables to patios and balconies as the corporate world migrated to their homes. By merging the versatility of the residence with the commercial office, companies can create spaces in which people actually want to work. By breaking down the constraints of the rigid corporate office, this informal ‘resimercial’ space can offer a fresh new take on the workplace that will not confine users but welcome a sense of independence.
Easy transition
Providing employees with the choice and freedom of how and where they work in the office, will help them make a seamless and easy transition from the home office to the workplace.
Smart working solutions like private booths and pods, moveable desks, recliners and lounges, ergonomic seating and panelled workstations provide users with a range of choice that adjusts to their needs and comfort.
This pivot will also likely signal the end of the open-office era, which was once thought to revolutionise the employee experience by enforcing socialisation and collaboration in the workplace.
However, this sea of monotonous and nondescript desks have blurred boundaries and inhibited privacy, which has gained a renewed sense of importance. The “open-office” concept negates the need for personal space to fulfil the agenda of maximising the full potential of floor space, economising the employee’s experience. We now see people wanting the option of self-isolation for focused tasks or to just temporarily escape common workplace interruptions and disturbances.
The true function of the workplace has become a topical issue in recent times that has allowed employees to build a sustained preference for their home offices. This has led to working from home or remote working from elsewhere to be placed on a pedestal. Despite this, an essential factor absent in the home office or when working remotely from cafés and restaurants, is the ability to collaborate and form close connections to one’s team or fellow colleagues. These human and in person interactions thrive and strengthen in the shared space of the workplace.
The pandemic ushered in a tendency for one to remain reserved and to keep to themselves. This was amplified by a lack of team building and familiarity with one’s co-workers that virtual meeting platforms and software have not been able to successfully address. Thus, hindering the development of interpersonal skills and the ability to form close-knit relationships. Companies can address this palpable isolation and disconnectedness by incorporating people-first workspace solutions that ease the apprehensions faced when meeting new people, or new team members for the first time.
Employers will essentially need to strike a balance between building workplace communities and designing spaces that offer users the ability to focus better, without the exposure and distractions of the work floor.
This can be approached by downsizing conference rooms to seat smaller groups of people instead of the usual crowds and incorporating workplace ‘neighbourhoods’ will help employees bond with each and strengthen employee kinship.
In finding new ways to align themselves with their employees’ comforts, companies do not need to discount the human experience to fulfil their quotas of productivity. Designing thoughtful work habitats will not only help their employees find a new purpose and motivation to work but will organically give rise to a happy and well-adjusted workforce.
The writer is Managing Director, Steelcase APAC (India, SAARC & Design Application- APAC).
