RETHINKING THE OFFICE Attitudes Toward Working Remotely In St. Lucia And The Region
2020 | JULY
Rethinking the Office Over the years, there has been a growing global trend towards the Working From Home (WFH) concept. However, to date this trend has not been widely embraced in St. Lucia or the wider Caribbean. Due to Covid-19, at the end of March, 2020 with little to no notice, companies were all thrust into having to mobilize their teams to work remotely. With the phased reopening of Caribbean economies in June, we thought it would be interesting to have a greater understanding of people’s attitudes towards WFH. As such, over 500 office workers were surveyed across the region - Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia and Trinidad.
Highlights
Marella Devaux Managing Director
• • • •
Overall, there was a very positive view on Working From Home in the Caribbean. Trinidad and Barbados lead those attitudes ahead of St. Lucia and Grenada. 75% of St. Lucians had a favorable response to working remotely. An overwhelming 92% say that their ideal work environment would be a hybrid model.
A REGIONAL VIEW
BARBADOS
GRENADA
ST. LUCIA
TRINIDAD
View working from home positively
84%
79%
75%
88%
Feel they are more productive at home
53%
41%
50%
64%
Why don’t more companies adopt the work from home approach? Traditional/Old school Culture
Nature of business
55%
Lack of available technology
26%
Other
13%
7%
In the longer term, what is the ideal working environment?
5% 3%
92% 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Hybrid (Remote/Physical)
50%
60%
Fully Remote
70%
80%
Fully Physical
90%
100%
THE ST. LUCIA PERSPECTIVE - Working From Home Primary Challenges
Flexible schedule
58%
Family disruptions
65%
Reduced commute time
39%
Keeping a regular schedule
43%
Transport cost savings
36%
35%
Better work/ life balance
35%
No dedicated space to work Internet connectivity
Increased focus & productivity
26%
Social isolation
25%
Less stress
17%
Other responses
Other responses
3%
{
32%
7%
While having the flexibility is the greatest benefit, the challenge for employers would be ensuring that staff have the adequate equipment and technology and the proper work environment to optimize their productivity.
Culture Percentage of those that believe corporate culture will be the same or better with a work from home structure.
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Primary Benefits
85% Same or Better
Coaching
Office Space
How effectively can coaching and mentoring be done when working from home?
What percentage could your office space be reduced by in a hybrid or fully work from home scenario?
41%
43%
Somewhat effectively
23% 36% Effectively
Not so effectively
REDUCED
Embracing Working From Home Will companies actually embrace the concept of working from home in the next 12 - 24 months?
0%
10%
20%
33% 30%
40%
YES
{
50%
NOT SURE
31% 60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
NO
75% of the St. Lucians surveyed had a preference for WFH adoption, however only 36% think businesses will actually adopt a WFH approach.
{
36%
Insights While there is a very favorable response to WFH the overwhelming preference is for a hybrid model - which is where employees work a few days from home and a few days in the office. For companies contemplating this shift in their working environment, the nature of their business, the technology available, the employee’s role and method of evaluating employee performance all will play an integral role in ensuring that this hybrid approach is effective.
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The business community will have to be innovative and strategic in the business approach as it relates to work efforts while meeting overall company objectives.
While many companies continue to re-think “the office”, we are already seeing an increase in the availability of smaller office space on the market, giving clients the option of utilizing the hybrid model if it suits their company’s needs. However, we don’t foresee a dramatic change in St. Lucia’s office space landscape in the immediate future.
Terms & Conditions - These survey results have been published for general information only and are not to be relied upon. Although high standards have been used in the preparation of the information, presented in this report, no responsibility or liability whatsoever can be accepted by Terra Caribbean for any loss or damage resultant from any use of, reliance on or reference to the contents of this document.
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