There is a growing gap between employees’ work preferences and actual office use as they often say one thing but then go ahead and do something different.
“In the four years since the start of the global pandemic, work and workers permanently changed in all ways,” Linda Trim, director at Giant Leap, a workplace design consultancy, says.
“Employers quickly transitioned data to the cloud to enable remote work, teams leveraged technology to collaborate virtually across geographies and time zones and individuals learned how, where and when they work best alone and with each other.”
However, we are starting to see new work patterns emerge and a clear disconnect between what employees say and do when it comes to office work and office ‘vibes’, she says.
Trim points out that new research by Gensler, a global architecture, design and planning firm, found that while employees say they ideally need the office for two-thirds of a typical work week, they are only coming in for half of the time.
The study on work preferences was based on 14 000 office workers across nine countries working in 10 industries.
The study also found that employees are willing to return to the office more often for a new mix of experiences. “This suggests that employers must rethink the office to make it more attractive for employees and to better accommodate their diverse needs and behaviour,” Trim says.
“There is a new awareness that employees are unique individuals at various life stages who may have diverse living conditions, family arrangements and commuting patterns. As we reimagine a new workplace for the future, it is time to design people-centric environments that are flexible and tailored to workers’ diverse needs and behaviour, as well as their work preferences.”
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The study’s key findings include:
The study also indicated that there is a mismatch of ‘vibe’ in the office between what employees have and their ideal, with most employees wanting what they do not have. Vibes range from quiet offices with fewer people, to spaces that are “buzzy,” to active spaces with lots of people.
Therefore, Trim says, the implications for future workplace design include:
“Workplaces must evolve and be ever-changing, consistent with the dynamic nature of work and the changing needs of the people who use them,” Trim says.
“This will create not only a more inclusive work environment, but one that recognises and celebrates that we are unique individuals working collectively to learn, grow and do great work together.”
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