Companies are looking at new approaches to accommodate employees who have become accustomed to working remotely by creating a hybrid approach to the workplace — by balancing being remote part of the week with in-office expectations for the rest. A study done by consulting firm Gartner of companies in the U.S. highlighted that 83% of respondents are contemplating incorporating a flexible week into the work environment.
To achieve this transition back to the workplace organisations must decide what their corporate offices can offer employees that other spaces cannot.
COMMUTING IS GOOD FOR YOU
Commuting is not what it once was, and the COVID sedentary life has major health implications.
Commuting gives you precious down time to mentally prepare you for your day or to wind down after, it also defines the lines between work and leisure that working from home blurs. Plus a more active commute like cycling or walking (even just between bus stops) is healthier and also gives you a mood boost.
When evaluating your company’s benefits program, consider offering the Bike to Work or Taxsaver Commuter ticket schemes to help with the cost of commuting. And with the Government cutting public transport costs by on average 20%, it means that for most employees if they make 1 to 4 return trips a week they still stand to save with an annual ticket. Check out flexible working Taxsaver savings from TravelHub https://www.travelhub.ie/flexible-working-taxsaver-savings
CONTINUED HEALTH & SAFETY PLANNING FOR COVID
Although there is a strong desire to return to normal and everyone is tired of the pandemic, COVID is still prevalent and many workers are going to feel apprehensive about coming back. Put the welfare of your staff to the forefront of your plans, they need to know that you take their safety seriously. Keep current COVID safety measures in place and communicate any changes with staff.
A STRONGER FOCUS ON WORK/LIFE BALANCE
One thing that the pandemic achieved is that everyone realised that they could have more time for family or hobbies. To encourage workers back to the workplace organisations need to find creative ways to focus on work / life balance so that workers don’t feel like they are losing out on COVID gains. There is no one-solution-fits-all in this scenario, as work / life balance can mean very different things to different people, and demanding or enforcing a return to work could result in high levels of registrations.
Communicate that physical collaboration with colleagues is a critical part of making a company successful and consider altering your business hours on office days or dedicating office days for informal gatherings that promote collaboration or culture-building activities.
GIVE YOUR OFFICE DESIGN & LAYOUT A FACELIFT
It’s likely that much of the spaces in your office do not serve the initial purpose they once had. If your teams are not all in the office at once consider creating spaces that encourage interactions and relationship building. A change is as good as a rest they say and a remodel could help make the workplace a destination that workers want to be in.
Your employees have changed during the pandemic and they no longer see the necessity of returning to the office for routine daily tasks, so change it. The office of the future is instead ideal for things like creative collaboration, team building, training and career advancement. So find ways to evolve your office so that it becomes a destination of choice that your employees want to be a part of and will make the occasional trip for.
