The time to navigate future working models has arrived. As a result of the changes that the workforce has undergone in the past year, many businesses are turning to a hybrid model to accommodate the new needs of workers.
With these adjustments, businesses are working to establish more structured flexible policies in order to make the transition as seamless as possible.
“It has to be flexible enough so people can see you’ve listened, but clamped down enough that you don’t have hundreds of people off at the same time when it may affect productivity and collaboration,” said Graeme Canter, managing partner and director of operations for media agency MediaCom U.K.
This will likely include a slow reopen of offices, Covid-19 protocols still in place such as temperature checks and face masks, staggering start times and reduced occupancy.
Because workers are no longer geographically tethered to large cities, many have started moving to secondary cities and the suburbs for a lower cost of living and more space. This has opened the door for companies to make changes to their real estate footprint.
For instance, the CEO of UK-based Neo PR Ashley Carr closed the company’s Buckinghamshire office and converted a former stable block on his farmland to serve as the agency’s “touchdown space.”
“We don’t even call it office space anymore,” said Carr. “I find the concept of the standard office just a lazy way to create culture. Now is the time for businesses to be more flexible.”
