Companies have started transforming their offices into design-focused and highly amenitized workspaces over the past few years in an effort to better retain and attract talent. Along with this has been the growth in coworking spaces that offer similar services for lower costs.
Now, as the digitization of the workplace ramps up, organizations are reconsidering how much office space they truly need. Working from home has officially hit the mainstream, so why go back to the seemingly antiquated in-person work arrangement?
Remote working arrangements do indeed carry numerous benefits for employees and businesses. However, the sudden transition to working from home may be Band-Aid on a much deeper problem.
For instance, socialization and collaboration cannot be truly replicated virtually. This hinders creativity and overall teamwork. Additionally, many employees actually want to come into the office at least part of the time to maintain relationships with colleagues and get time outside of their distraction-riddled homes. The solution may be a hybrid approach rather than adopting one arrangement or the other.
This is not to say that all offices will be necessary moving forward. In fact, old, unrenovated office space will likely suffer in the coming months. However, Class A offices in ideal locations will see a growth in demand.
Those returning to the physical workspace will still have to do so under new guidelines. That means lower occupancy, distanced workstations and consistent sanitation practices.