Is the home to become the new office?

JLL publishes the results of its "When home is the new office" report, in which the company analyses opinions of Polish employees on remote work.

The home office – a subject which has been widely discussed for a long time and which employees perceive as one of their most important perks of their job. But how do they evaluate remote work when it is a necessity rather than a matter of choice? The opinions are even more interesting because, as indicated by JLL’s When home is the new office report – for many people, working from a sofa, bed or kitchen is a completely new situation. 42% of survey participants either did not use the home office mode at all, or only worked from home one day per month. Whatever our attitude towards remote working might be, however, our employers are already beginning to plan the process of returning to the office. In fact, the move back may prove to be more challenging than implementing the biggest global home office test in history.

IN ITS REPORT, JLL ANALYSES SEVERAL AREAS, INCLUDING: • Motivation and cooperation

For many people, especially those living alone, the home office entails forced isolation. The lack of daily face-to-face contact with their colleagues, an inability to hold spontaneous conversations, a lack of an opportunity to ask a short question in an open space or grab a quick coffee can be frustrating in the long run. Moreover, nearly 80% of respondents to our survey clearly stated that they have a strong sense of belonging to their organization when working from the office. In contrast, only 44% of respondents have that same sense of belonging when working from home. A similar percentage (81%) also indicated that working in an office space with other people positively influences their level of motivation. Knowing how

You can download the “When home is the new office”report here:

important human relations are in ensuring effective work, we must (speaking of both leaders and employees) continue to nurture these interactions. Therefore, it is even more important to provide the team with a place for everyday interactions, conducted online of course. And it is not only about business tele or videoconferencing, but also about lunches, celebrating successes or working out together. In addition, the data from JLL indicates that in the office 90% and 75% of the respondents positively rated cooperation with colleagues and clients, respectively. Whereas working remotely it dropped to 41% and 47%, respectively.

• Digital transformation

The majority of JLL's respondents indicated that they are now reaching for technological solutions that they had not previously used. The home office has therefore become not only a strong impulse to influence the pace of tech nological transformation of companies but has also made many employees more open to innovation. This is great news for the IT industry, especially since in almost 100% of cases, the respondents also declared that they want to use these new solutions in the future. These applications range from enabling videoconferencing for hundreds of guests to electronic document circulation platforms, and allow us to work from virtually anywhere. The question, however, is how the remote working model affects our mental and physical condition.

• Ergonomics

The area of everyday work ergonomics has become even more important for a significant number of office workers. What we previously took for granted, i.e. armchairs that “co-operate” with our backs have had to be replaced with kitchen chairs. Ergonomics is one of the points where the office wins in the race with the home office model. And it is not just about adjustable desks, but also the variety of spaces we can use during the working day. For this reason, 86% of respondents indicated that the office environment is good for their well-being. That is why it is worth remembering to take regular breaks, do stretching exercises, or go for a short “walk” on the balcony or in the garden. Breaks are also a priority for people who have to divide their day up between work and children.

• Family life, and hobbies

Those of us who live alone can feel the unpleasant effects of isolation, while parents can say that they now interact rather too much with their children. However, it turns out that most of us are now more satisfied with our family life. The level of satisfaction in this area has almost tripled, even taking into account the fact that people with children face more noise daily, which – needless to say – hinders work. Moreover, twice as many employees now admit that they have more time for their hobbies. This could be down to not having to commute to work. By spending the whole day at home, we can better plan our schedule. In addition, as many as 85% of respondents claimed to be satisfied with the quality of their meals by working remotely – by comparison, in the office, it was only half.

DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE HOME OFFICE AND THE OFFICE PERFECTLY COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER?

Sounds like a cliché, but employee feedback proves that the two models are complementary. Therefore, perhaps, once the current situation calms down, many employers will take a more sympathetic look at the home office. But will the division of work between the home office and office work become a new standard? This is certainly one of the trends in the transformation of the workplace that is worth looking at. However, those who initially saw the demise of traditional office spaces on the horizon have definitely hurried. Employees very much miss the office environment and normal contact with their colleagues. It is possible, however, that after returning to normality, we will expect greater freedom in choosing the workplace.

AND HOW TO PLAN THE RETURN?

Currently, many employers are already starting to prepare a strategy that will gradually allow us to get back to our work desks. However, before offices reopen for employees, companies must ensure that the risks are minimized and that employees feel as safe as possible. How? By reorganizing the layout of the office so that it allows for maintaining an appropriate physical distance between employees, preparing and effectively communicating new rules of using the office space, and also by carrying out analyses of the state of installations in the building. Certainly, the implementation of such a strategy does not mean that we will all return to the office at the same time. On the one hand, companies must follow the recommendations of authorities and relevant institutions, and on the other, we must give ourselves time to acquire new habits and ways of doing things in these times of a new “normality”.

So it seems that apart from the new procedures and changes in office organization, effective communication will be of crucial importance. Employees need to be sure that the employer has carefully thought through the whole return process, and everything is done for their welfare. Undoubtedly, the number of areas that need to be taken care of may at first seem overwhelming, especially if the company does not have a team of specialists with expertise in workplace issues.

Here, it can be particularly helpful to work with external experts who will be able to analyze a building’s key systems, the readiness of the office to welcome employees back as well as the readiness of the employees themselves to return, and rules that will help them to work efficiently and safely in the office. 

Author:

Jakub Zieliński,

Team Leader, Workplace Advisory, JLL

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