Hybrid working is now perceived as non-negotiable in the workforce, and as most office environments were designed before the pandemic, employers must adapt to support new workstyles efficiently.
The office plays a key part in work-life separation and contributes to establishing healthy working routines. Being in the office provides 79 percent of employees with downtime support and social interaction. While 56 percent of employees find technology better in the office than elsewhere.
When employees can choose between different places to work, they often struggle to separate weekly activities between the office and home in a way that better supports work needs. It is reported that 55 percent of total work time in the week is spent on focused work, with an even split between home and the office. Employees are struggling to fully dedicate days in the office for pure collaboration and interaction.
Many pre-pandemic hybrid offices are focused on collaborative work, but a place still needs to be available for focused individual work. Employees are becoming less resilient to noise, which means guidelines need to be in place to ensure open work areas and hot-desking workstations provide privacy and concentration.
Hybrid workers have high expectations that many employers are not yet meeting. Office experiences for Hybrid workers are consistently being rated lower than those with a single workspace. Hybrid workers feel they lack wellness initiatives and employer engagement.
Employers need to understand their employees expectations, fine-tune the office environment, emphasise wellbeing, and provide advanced technology solutions for hybrid workers.
