The past couple of years has been a challenge for us all. Covid has had a huge impact on all of us and especially on our work lives. 60% of the UK’s adult population worked from home during the first coronavirus lockdown. A sudden change like this can be difficult, not everyone has home offices or space to work, employers were forced to send their employees home. But over time, remote working has become a normality for many of us, and a lot of employees preferred to work from home. 83% of employees feel they do not need an office to be productive.
Are offices needed anymore?
One thing that Covid has proven is that working from home can work, a lot of employees are enjoying remote working and feel as though they are far more productive when working remotely. Employees feel as though they are saving money, buying lunch out and paying for transport to work can all add up. No commuting to work means more time to work. So why would anyone want to go back to the office?
Although working from home can be nice, it has its downsides. The biggest issue is a lack of socialising. Socialising and communicating with other employees is such an important part of your work life, not only is it beneficial for work, but it’s also essential for mental health.
How employers are trying to fill offices again
Making a comfortable and inclusive work environment is more important now than ever. A lot of companies are offering the option of hybrid working but what if employees are preferring to work from home rather than come into the office? One way to get employees to come in and feel productive and happy is to change the workplaces environment. Who wouldn’t want to work from the comfort of their own home?
Have a listen to the eat sleep work repeat podcast. In this episode, Lloyds bank leader Tom Kegode discusses hybrid working and what employers are doing to make the workplace more attractive to employees.
Hybrid working
One-way employers are encouraging their workers to get back into the office is by giving them the option of flexible and hybrid working. Working in the office some days of the week and working remotely for the others is a great way of offering workers the balance that they want.
Making a homely office environment
Something you might notice pop up this year is a much more homely office environment. The reason for this is: if offices are designed to look more like a home instead of a work environment, the employees who prefer to work from home will be more likely to come in. We now know that working in a relaxed, more homely environment and some even work better, what’s the point in having a plain and boring office when you could have a playful office.
Senator is one of the largest office furniture manufacturers in the world, they create beautiful and stylish pieces of furniture that will transform your office into a modern and functional workspace. The modern office will be laid out differently from what you’re used to, Senator recommends considering these five categories and thinking about how you can split up your office to include them all:
WORK
Personal space for day-to-day activities that entail individual or small group working. Designed for tasks that require moderate to high levels of concentration.
SHARE
Informal meeting space where ideas can be exchanged and developed. They offer both formal and informal settings to connect with colleagues in planned, spontaneous or remote ways.
SHOW
Formal spaces for presentations and important meetings. Spaces that enable nondisruptively access for visitors and associates, as well as areas to participate in learning, events and social activities.
SOURCE
Spaces for shared resources and storage.
REFRESH
Creative spaces that inspire and encourage lateral thinking. Spaces that allow people to step away from work, relax and disconnect. They are designed to further support employee well-being and create a sense of community.
Including areas that fit these categories all around the office means that employees can easily move around the office and use the space how they need it.
More privacy and creating a quiet place in the office
Considering different privacy settings in the office is another great way to create a more inclusive environment. Not every employee will want to work in an open-plan office when they are in an important phone call, creating private areas in the office is an amazing way of making people feel more relaxed in the office.
One way more privacy could be added to the office is by using Pods. Senator offer a variety of pods some are like complete rooms, these are called cell pods, others are just a booth or a desk with screens around to give some privacy.
David Blood from Love your workspace loves the CellPod so much that he installed one in our office. “ CellPods are a fantastic addition to any office as it allows us to escape to a private quiet space in the workplace. When I’ve got a meeting or an important phone call I can go into the pod, no one else in the office gets disrupted and I don’t have any noise disrupting me in my meetings “
Senator has designed a new collection called Playbook that will transform your office into a more open and relaxed environment. Click here to see all the products featured in the collection.
Love your workspace- Our design team
Love your workspace puts together beautiful workplaces and supplies stylish, practical furniture to offices.
If you need help creating a stunning and functional office space contact the Love your workspace team by calling 0330 332 0880, David will do a free telephone consultation to discuss options and give you all the help you need.
Want help setting up an ergonomic workstation for yourself or your employees? Call us on 0330 332 0880 or email enquiries@posturepeople.co.uk, we will be more than happy to help!
