Working From Home Has Altered Workplace Preferences

Research from furniture manufacturer Steelcase has identified what UK workers enjoy most about working from home, and what components are suffering without a physical office.

The data found that 97% of the 32,000 respondents want to come back to an office for some or most of the time, but also indicated that the office will need to be adjusted for the post-pandemic future.

According to the research, 23% feel less engaged while working from home, while 22% stated that they saw their decision-making speed slowing down. Even more, 18% said they experienced a dip in productivity.

However, not all of the results were negative. In fact, 42% found the lack of commute to be one of the biggest improvements of the past year. This means that businesses will need to do a better job of outfitting the office to make it a place that employees are actually willing to travel to.

“The pandemic has reshaped many aspects of our lives, including where and how people want to work,” said Gale Moutrey, vice president of workplace innovation at Steelcase. “Their experiences working from home, and what they face when they return to the office, have influenced what they want and expect to see in the workplace going forward. The majority of workers will return to the office and their work from home experiences will provide the guidance for a new, better work experience.”

Additionally, 77% of UK employees stated that they would prefer a hybrid work arrangement that would allow them to work from home and in the office for portions of the week.