Still figuring it out

To unpack Butterfield’s somewhat damning indictment of our hybrid toolkit, at the heart of it Butterfield is alluding to set up. The set up of our homes, the set up of our offices, and even the set up of our cities. Our infrastructure caters to the generic nine to five, the places we inhabit are conveniently located to ease the commute, our offices are designed for productive desk-bound working, and our homes are designed for living.

During the pandemic, our carefully convened infrastructures were turned upside down. Kitchen tables became rudimentary war rooms, board meetings were conducted online, people were hired into close-knit teams remotely, and we all learned to work together whilst staying apart. The world of work shifted. Yet, as we step out of the pandemic and into a new era of working, our infrastructures have largely remained the same.

In fact, half of us think we’re most productive when at home, and three in five (62%) agree that working remotely has had a positive effect on their wellbeing. With this in mind, it makes little sense to revoke the remote model entirely. It makes people happy and helps maintain a healthy work/life balance. Not to mention the fact that those who are unsatisfied with their current level of working flexibility are three times more likely to “definitely” look for a new job, compared to those who report satisfaction with their work flexibility.

Now, the working world must re-evaluate how to best utilize pandemic-era technology within post-pandemic spaces, and commercial real estate can really maximize this opportunity to re-vision the office. “In the hybrid-work-era office, the least valuable use of space is providing employees with spots to work alone on their laptops” says Butterfield. Instead, in the new world of working, meeting rooms, training program spaces, places to eat and socialize with colleagues aren’t just a nice-to-have, they’re the reason to come to work.

Recent stats reveal that more than a third of office workers (34%) have returned to working in the office five days a week, the highest numbers since June 2020. And, with stock in Zoom Video Communications Inc. falling a staggering 35% since the beginning of the year, optimism is high for a return to a more human way of working.

There’s an underlying tone of frustration from those who have returned to the office. Namely, the “call culture” of the pandemic is still very much at large, with some disgruntled office workers describing coming to work as something akin to a call center: “you’re trying to talk and you’ve got five or six people around you also talking. It’s a horrible experience.” – Dave Murphy, IT management consultant.

According to ​​Lauren Mason, senior consultant at Mercer, “companies need to be intentional about how and why people are going back to in-person work.” And it’s the intentionality of the return that’s key here. No one wants to feel that their commute was futile, nor do they want to come and sit in a room full of people on Zoom, unable to concentrate and feeling significantly less comfortable than at home.

So what are the practical steps that CRE can implement to appeal to the workforce of the future? Let’s break it down.

With an eye to the future, we predict that the workforce of tomorrow will be looking for offices that enhance flexibility, prioritize wellbeing, allow for the human side of work to shine through – encouraging people to commute in by offering an elite selection of technology and services. One vital point is that implemented tech must be adaptable, able to grow, learn and thrive alongside the people operating within the building with seamless efficiency.