While the transition to a mostly remote workforce has been intriguing at the very least, it has left an air of uncertainty about the future of physical workspaces.
According to Nathan Sri, principal of strategy at Unispace, workers are still facing challenges with working from home in terms of socialization, collaboration and connecting with colleagues.
“The physical workplace still offers employees a range of emotional, psychological and professional benefits, and presents a platform to establish crucial organizational pillars such as tightly woven teams and a strong corporate culture,” said Sri.
According to UniSpace’s WorkReady survey, 20% of remote workers are disadvantaged in that they lack the tools needed to effectively work from home. Additionally, 25% said they do not feel like their position is built for remote working arrangements, indicating that employers need to have a better strategy that accommodates all employees.
Moving forward, companies should look into a more hybrid approach to allow employees to work in both at-home and in-office work environments. This also means that businesses need to upgrade their technology so employees can easily collaborate no matter where they decide to work. Additionally, organizations should also look into incorporating smaller spaces within the office built specifically for small group meetings or individual work.
The inclusion of a physical office also means reevaluating how that workspace is designed. As we are in the middle of an ongoing pandemic, businesses need to keep the safety and health of workers as their number one priority. This means including touch-free technology, spaced out work stations and installing self-cleaning appliances.
