Back to the Office Post Covid-19

We've set our horizon to a post-Covid-19 period and engaged with our customers and researched reports and surveys. We can conclude that many are thinking that it's not going to be like it was before. Much will turn back to normal, but what is it that will change and what are the drivers of this? Why will things not just go back to how they were before?

An interesting fact to mention is that people got used to working remotely and we soon realised we can be just as, and maybe even more, efficient than before. We experienced the benefits, and are now able to see the positive effect it can have on our professional and personal life. 

A survey from Price, Waterhouse, Coopers (PWC). Executed amongst 850 US workers and 130 executives managing companies, shows significant interest in a hybrid solution between working in the office and remote work. We shouldn't underestimate the power of the workforce putting up such requirements with the knowledge worker we see today. This needs to be addressed, one way or another.

Many companies who have been open for remote work have seen it didn´t compromise efficiency, and are seeing opportunities for a workforce no longer bound to a geographical location. This results in an increased competitiveness when wanting to attract skilled employees

A survey from JLL amongst 2000 respondents in November 2020, showed 50% of employees wanting some sort of hybrid model where they have the flexibility of both working from home and in the office. 26% prefer only being remote or somewhere else like outside the office and 24% in the office only. 

How did the employers respond on the JLL Survey?

With that premise, with those preferences, focus on collaboration and flexibility is paramount. If employees are not in the office all days a week. Why do we go there and how can you create that flexibility of managing a workforce that is not there every day?

A hybrid model catering both remote and in-office work requires considerations:

• Should we have a hoteling solution where you come in and you have certain spaces where you book, desks, book rooms.
• Do we want to share offices? If people are in 50% of the time, would it be possible to share an office with someone else?
• How can we personalize spaces for teams doing certain specific types of work, like projects.
• How can we accommodate the need of making the office more personal? 
• Can we benefit from a Café-style seating? 
• What about open air conference areas?
• What impact does that have on the interior and architecture of (new) Offices?

Will Activity-based working style become fashionable again?

1. Collaborating
2. Accessing equipment or documents securely
3. Meeting with clients or colleagues
4. Training & career development

1. Increasing employee productivity
2. Providing a space to meet clients
3. Enabling employees to collaborate effectively
4. Enabling our company culture

But even though that this data shows some different priority and different rankings, there are similarities. It's collaboration, socializing, and it's about meeting clients.

Some things are just required to have a physical presence. Along comes the discussion about, centralizing and decentralizing office space. If we have a flexible workforce and we know we can work remote, why not establish smaller satellite offices to have our workforce avoid commuting? Having that closer to their homes while still getting some place to collaborate and meet in a hybrid workplace.

But does that really fit that need and purpose that we looked at just before? If you are wanting to go there to socialize and meet your colleagues, if you want to go there to learn, if you want to go there to meet clients, is it enough to go to a smaller office where only some of your colleagues are and maybe your clients are not close to. Or is it better to have that central office still where everyone meets if they want to meet?

In the Price, Waterhouse Cooper survey there are both companies thinking about consolidating space while also de-centralizing. And the consolidation topic, especially, is something that we hear across the board and seeing many articles about companies saying we want to lower the amount of real estate. If people are not in the office all the time we don't need as much space. So we're thinking about cutting it down and then having people to share desks. Back to the need for hoteling. Back to the need for sharing spaces, for having flexibility.

Rationally that makes so much sense, but what also comes to my mind is being thoughtful about its effect on collaboration efficiency, but mostly overall employee well-being. What if cutting down on real estate impacts that negatively?

Interesting considerations, which we will be following with interest and write about on our blog. If you are interesting in staying in know, sign-up for the AskCody Blog . 

We also recommend you read the JLL article:

• JLL: Shaping the future of work for a better world