“The Coronavirus pandemic has drastically changed most aspects of our lives, but perhaps most of all, our way of working. The rise of remote working in the past year has been astronomical, and many employers are starting to see the benefits of flexible working. Coming out of the pandemic, there will be a huge shift in the way we work, and the role working from home will play. What might this look like in action though?
The Role of the Office
In a post pandemic world, the amount of workers permanently working from home is expected to double (source: survey from Enterprise Technology Research). The conventional role of the office is long gone, and employers will have to start reimagining how work is done and the environment it is done in. While some may return to the office full time, others may only rarely see other employees in person.
Ways to reimagine work and the workplace
Change how work is doneDuring lockdown, businesses had to ensure their most important processes could occur remotely. For some organisations, this was relatively simple- moving regular processes online. However, for other businesses this didn’t work quite as well.
Deciding when it is most important to be physically working together is the first step in changing the way work is done. The ideas stages of projects may require face to face contact, however later individual stages could likely be done from home. Ensuring teams stay connected is still vital, so organisations must look at ways to keep up collaboration with remote workers. Decide whether individual jobs will be remote or in person
While some jobs are easy to define as completely remote or in person, there may be some ‘hybrid’ working styles, with employees splitting their time between work and home.
The rise of employees completely working from home will allow companies to recruit talent from a wider area due to less geographical limitations. Employees could live in the location of their choice and still work for prestigious businesses, making remote working a win-win for both parties.
Redesign the workplace
Currently, workplaces are designed to allow for individual work- with a mixture of open plan work spaces, cubicles and private offices. But with the rise of remote working and less demand for individual work in the office, redesigning to include more collaborative spaces will be the next step for many organisations. Individual offices and cubicles will likely be scrapped in favour of more open areas for collaborative work and breakout areas designed to encourage innovative thinking and planning.
As a consequence of this rise in remote working, offices may be reduced in size due to less employees being there on a day to day basis. This could be highly beneficial to businesses as costs will also be reduced.
Offices in a post COVID-19 world will also need to be able to support work between remote and in person employees. More advanced technology to support seamless meetings between the two will be required, and will support new ways of working (such as asynchronous brainstorming). However, with the increase in advanced technology and remote working, cybersecurity is vital.
Image via Spacematrix
Going to be working from home more often after the pandemic? Make sure you have the best office chair to ensure your comfort or the comfort of your team!
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By: Richard Edwards
Published: 19th March 2021
