By all indications the future of work is hybrid. More people than ever before are working remotely. But not everyone prefers the work from home environment. The result is a hybrid workplace, one that combines remote work and work in a traditional office space. The goal of the hybrid workplace is to support every work style and every employee.
Advantages of remote working
- Change to commuting patterns, traffic and time spent to and from the office
- Focused individual work improved – less disruption
- Restore or enhance work life balance
- Increased family time
- Employee’s sense of freedom – can control their work/home schedule, improving job satisfaction
- Reduces staff turnover
- Attract talent
Disadvantages of remote working
- Communication & Collaboration suffers - teams become siloed and communicate less, less face-to-face interaction and chance meetings.
- Employees spend more time on email, what’s app and therefore less information is shared.
- Less collaboration and learning between new and younger employees (Generation Y & Z) and Baby Boomers– it’s a vital part of an office space – the ability for all to learn new skills.
- Culture, creativity and innovation may suffer.
- Employees lose the social interaction of offices and may feel lonely, isolated, and out of touch.
- Digital overload Zoom/Team meetings, webinars at all hours.
- Ability to work remotely is an issue in South Africa – access to a decent internet connection, space, and place to work, disruption, cost of IT.
- Difficult to manage remote teams.
- The biggest issue in offices today is lack of privacy and acoustic issues - these need to be addressed, again to encourage staff to return to the office
The Solution – The Hybrid Office
The opportunity is for companies to create a workplace (Hybrid Office) where everyone can thrive and importantly encourage employees to come back to the office a few days a week.
- A well designed and improved office space offering employees a choice of where to work within the office – desk, quiet zone, Private space, pause area, collaboration space or meeting room, in the garden or on the patio. The office is no longer the corner office, open plan space and meeting rooms.
- A beautifully designed and welcoming space – softer less corporate design and more like home – resimercial design – combination of a traditional corporate office with a leaning towards a warmer calmer residential space like home.
- Create a safer healthy office
- Social and planned interactions within the office
- State of the art digital infrastructure – phones, tele & video conferencing
- Pause area with great coffee, healthy meals, and snacks