If there is one lesson that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it is that we can adapt to just about anything. Cue the new norm in business operations, where the floodgates of mass digital transformation opened and remote work became a reality. The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for companies to experiment with how they work and modify workspaces in order to meet their employees’ changing needs.
As the world resets for a post-pandemic reality, a hybrid work model is emerging as the winning choice for both employees and employers. Our recent global report titled Changing Expectations and the Future of Work, which surveyed more than 32,000 employees, business leaders and real estate decision makers in 10 countries, including India, has revealed that globally 72% will adopt a hybrid working model, while 23% will return to offices full-time, and only 5% will continue to work from home. India is one of the top markets where employees are most open to the hybrid model.
The question is, are organizations equipped to fully adopt the hybrid model? The short answer is, not yet. The good news, however, is that change is already underway. Companies like Steelcase are already offering employees full support for remote work as well as a reconfigured office environment that is healthy, engaged, and productive. Organizations will need to focus on their employees’ physical and emotional well-being—regardless of where they are located—to make the most of the hybrid work model.
Make safety the top priority
Even as offices go about installing infrastructure that fosters a resilient hybrid culture, offering a sense of safety and security to employees needs to be prioritized. Apart from intensive sanitization facilities, health and wellness initiatives, companies must ensure adherence to safety protocols, and provide their employees touch-less options that minimize repetitive contact. Digital technology can play a major role in space management. For instance, if an organization decides to move to an office with unassigned spaces, employees will need flexible desks in their workspace on the specific days that they come to work. Here, online tools, which allow users to reserve facilities remotely from their mobile devices or find a free place to work in an office with shared workspaces, can ensure safety and comfort.
Ensure control and comfort
Steelcase’s survey has shown that one of the top reasons for staff to want to return to the workplace is to “connect and collaborate in a professional environment”. Collaboration often involves organized in-person meetings in a group set-up.
Post-pandemic, meetings will need to be held in open set-ups with comfortable seating, where social distance and good airflow can be maintained. This is radically different from how meetings were held earlier—with team members huddling in small, enclosed conference rooms. A simple solution that addresses comfort while giving maximum control to the employee is flexible furniture.
Steelcase’s Flex Collection: Designed to create a flexible and dynamic workspace for both teams and individuals.
Moveable furniture such as tables, whiteboards, carts, and acoustic boundaries offer the agility needed to create spaces that can be rearranged on demand. Mobile stands and wall mounts can be redesigned to offer maximum flexibility and compatibility to large-scale devices such as computers, white boards, and projectors, most often used in the office. Customizable modular structures that can be easily reconfigured to create room enclosures and boundary systems while innovatively incorporating mobile desks, seating, screens and accessories could be helpful to both employees in offices and those working remotely.
Another factor to be kept in mind is work from home fatigue—a very real concern. Ergonomic discomfort is one of its chief causes. In the hybrid model, organizations can address this by focusing on employee comfort with furniture like height-adjustable desks and ergonomic chairs specifically designed keeping in mind the unique movements and gestures of the human body while using various devices including mobile phones, laptops and tablets.
Enable productivity and a sense of belonging
An employee’s sense of belonging is directly related to increased productivity. This is particularly true for jobs that require innovative ideas and brainstorming for solutions. This is why organizations need to reconfigure spaces in an attempt to engage employees in a safe environment that promotes camaraderie and team spirit. The new high performing, modern workplace needs a safe, open space where teams of various sizes can congregate for a brainstorming session or a presentation and then move back to their independent, private workstation. A hybrid workplace functions best when teams can create ad hoc environments for collaboration wherever they feel the most comfortable. A good example of such smart thinking is the Steelcase Flex Huddle Hub, with its unique curved whiteboard, tackable wall and smooth caster wheels is designed to move, expand and contract as per the tehttps://www.steelcase.com/asia-en/products/panels/steelcase-flex-collection/?utm_source=ET+Insights&utm_medium=articleam’s needs.
https://www.steelcase.com/asia-en/products/panels/steelcase-flex-collection/?utm_source=ET+Insights&utm_medium=article
Hybrid workplaces will need the perfect mix of smart thinking and great design that allows employees to customize their workspace thus promoting a feeling of ownership and belonging in the employee. Flexible boundaries and modular setups that let employees determine the frame and shelves, the level of soft or hard enclosures, add doors and locks as per their needs are the hallmarks of an efficient hybrid workplace.
Steelcase’s Flex Duddle Hub
Rising to the challenge
A hybrid work model may come with its own set of challenges for organizations. Connecting and engaging can be difficult when both in-person and remote participants are involved. However, these obstacles can be overcome by organizations that bring a can-do attitude to adopting a new way of working and are willing to invest in innovative products and technology. The pandemic has been a great leveler—it has offered equal opportunity to all organizations to reimagine their work culture and space, and simultaneously given employees the chance to learn and adapt to changes, increase their overall productivity and ensure their personal growth. It’s in the best interest of both employees and companies to adapt a hybrid work model and unleash their full potential with a new way of working.
