With increasingly more people working from home (required or not), people are discovering that the home office has some perks that the workplace just does not have. Before, it was only the modern companies that allowed remote work, but now more and more companies have shown adaptability and flexibility to adjust and allow for a home office. The perks of working remotely include no commute time, saving money, and more flexibility in time scheduling and breaks. The cons of working in-office include multiple interruptions, rigid spaces, and lack of fitness. As we emerge from this period of forced remote work, what adaptations will we take with us from the home office that can be implemented to office buildings? Increased concentration levels
As a change of scenery has always been suggested while working, taking this into the office building environment means giving employees more freedom as to when to take their breaks to best support their own productivity. More people are now working from home and surprisingly, studies have found they’re more concentrated. Airtasker, a gig economy platform, surveyed 1,004 full-time employees, from which over half surveyed said they work from home a majority of the week. Their concentration level was higher when working from home for their daily tasks and efficiency. A major factor to productivity and concentration is taking breaks when needed. Recent studies also found that remote and in-office workers take 22 minutes and 18 minutes of break a day respectively. They found those working remotely worked an average of 1.4 more days every month than in-office workers. If you want to trust an employee to do their remote work productively you must first give them the opportunity to show they can be trusted and fruitful. This act of trust from the employer gives the employee an increased sense of independence and self-worth to uphold the act of trust. With the trust being given first, the initiative and appropriate break-taking will come after. In short, an employee is more productive when they feel valued, respected, and trusted. Building managers must be prepared for new expectations After experiencing a life away from the office, employees may find it hard to let go of the home-office experience and lifestyle they tasted. Although the circumstances that lead to the forced remote work in the first place were under no one’s control, it is possible to change how the in-office environment works after the return. Working remotely means scheduling virtual meetings and talking to others in a scheduled time slot. Although working in-office means having more of that communal working environment, it is more prone to distractions from coworkers or bosses. And yet, it is often still the employee who is deemed the one lacking attention skills when it is really more often the boss’s fault. Evidence shows from a study done that nearly a quarter of office employees said their boss distracted them from doing their work. 65% of those said it was because their boss was too talkative, and another 52% said their boss stressed them out. Only 15% of remote workers, however, said their boss had distracted them from work. While everyone is being forced to work from home now, they will eventually be returning to their offices and with new expectations learned from their new experiences. There are many different tech tools we learned to use to stay in touch with everyone during remote work (Zoom, Slack, Trello). As we transition back to the workplace, there is no reason not to continue using tech tools to keep updated on things like communication or who is in meetings and when. This will, admittedly, be a learning curve for bosses, employees, and building and office managers alike but there are technologies and tools out there to help navigate this curve. Flexibility in and out of the office Disciplinary excellence goes hand in hand with flexibility. Those going from remote work back to the office workspace might have to adapt back to the community work schedule instead of their own but there should still remain a certain degree of fluidity. As long as the workload is finished on time and there is a system set up to measure productivity, the how-to process shouldn’t have to be so rigid if possible. Most employees say that flexibility is one of the most important aspects of their happiness at the workplace. This is a win-win because the business is still getting the same outcome as desired, but the employee results in being happier along the way. It demonstrates good practice of employee-first mentality where businesses invest in their employees for long-term benefits and more effective results. After the 2008 financial crisis, there were many problems that followed for companies that tried to bounce back into business mode. In turn, they prioritized short-term shareholder interests instead of their employees’ best interests. Their strategy did not create sustainable value as their incentives were clouded from financial reasons and could’ve even destroyed economic and social value. Employee-first mentality is focused on the long-term performance and subsequently results in overall better employee wellbeing. Therefore, how can the company help implement a flexible, long-term system into the office environment? Especially if in an office environment with clear hierarchies set up, it may further enforce that notion of rigidness. One example of built-in hierarchies is as simple as appointed seats. The long-term, higher-ups get the higher floors, for example, and the interns and entry-levels get the lower floors. This form of hierarchy does not practice the employee-first mentality and distinguishes the varying degrees of value placed amongst different employees. Practicing employee-first mentality could include flexible flooring areas and more individual employee choices. One note to keep in mind when experimenting with how much flexibility to integrate, remember to provide clear guidelines, goals, and instructions. It is the process and small details that can empower an individual when left for their own terms. You want to recreate the pros of the home office lifestyle, such as flexibility, but not add in so much that can lead to feelings of misdirection. Amenities made easily accessible At home you have your kitchen, living room, and bedroom always present and accessible. It may be distracting at first but also generally comforting. These are the amenities that make your employees feel at home and perhaps in their element so you want them to be able to access those features in the office as well. Whether it be catering, nap rooms/pods, or community/communal areas, these employee-first measures have been implemented by many top companies to boost employee productivity, happiness, and overall wellness. Providing these amenities for easy access is a side effect of a flexible office working space. Napping on the job purposefully has shown to be beneficial in terms of creativity, dedication and alertness however employers have the same concerns for implementing designated nap rooms for the same reasons of concern over remote work. As remote work becomes more accepted, office amenities such as nap rooms will also be more common as employees learn the skills of independence, motivation, and accountability. This means we will have to find new platforms or apps to help ease of accessibility and navigation for these added amenities. Finding office-engagement platforms that allow building tenants to connect and use these communal amenities together and effectively will help with community building and putting the employee first. Coming out of this forced remote work period, employees will either emerge with a newfound skill of remote work and self-monitoring or will find themselves struggling to adapt to the new lifestyle and yearning for in-office work once again. However, there is no denying that this pandemic crisis will bring changes into how our world and offices work. We cannot deny that remote work was a fluid transition for some companies, which will leave people asking why they should even return to the office workplace at all. Identifying the home office perks and trying to integrate them into the in-office workplace upon return will help keep employees motivated and is an investment for the long-term benefits of any company. While we have the time and break away from the office, now is the time to take this information and start planning for a grand transition back.
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