Productive workplaces to replace yesterday’s office
The office workplace of the future is still being shaped by the pandemic.
While most office workers have embraced working-from-home (WFH), they still have a soft spot for the corporate office and its associated benefits.
Global professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) surveyed its 4500 employees in the Oceania region and found that there are found four main reasons why WFH is a winner:
- Nearly four in five (78 per cent) of EY people think they can work just as effectively in a remote setting as they do in the office.
- Video calls have increased contributions from junior staff, with 33 per cent noting that meetings are less hierarchical as the ‘head of the table’ dynamic dissolve. Introverts can raise a virtual hand or type a question in the chat box, and those who have always worked in a different location no longer feel left out of the water-cooler conversations.
- In EY’s case, those more than an hour away from the office are 35 per cent more likely to want to work remotely indefinitely than those who live within half an hour of the office.
- Around two-thirds of remote workers are prioritising fitness and self-care in a way they did not before COVID-19.
According to the study, nearly half of EY employees want a certain number of days in the office each week and to work remotely the rest of the time.
A further 44 per cent want to work remotely as the default from now on and to use the office for specific purposes, like client meetings, team building and social events.
The future situation is far from clear, according to EY.
Leading companies are now looking to the future of work. They are learning from both successes and failures. They are factoring in the financial, economic and government policy implications and how these will impact their future scenarios.
“We expect to see these leaders spend more time considering the nexus between people, place and productivity,” the company said.
Date Published:
24 August 2020