While working from home was a concept already known before the pandemic started, it wasn’t prevalent, especially as part of the modern workspace culture. However, when the pandemic began, businesses in Singapore and other parts of the world were forced to close their offices and let their employees work remotely to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
But as the pandemic starts to ebb away, we foresee the benefits of the work-from-home culture staying for the long term. While we recognise the benefits working in the office brings to productivity and teamwork, we believe that a compromise, a hybrid workplace model, will instead emerge and take root in our modern working society.
What is the hybrid workplace model?
A hybrid workplace is a mixture of remote and in-office work, giving employees the flexibility and support they need to achieve work-life balance and become more productive. Employees are able to work anywhere outside the workplace on some days and are required to report to the office by days or by teams, or on an as-needed basis.
In this kind of setup, employees have more autonomy, especially when it comes to managing their time and thus, are more engaged as a result. Employers, in turn, benefit from this model by having a more productive, more stable workforce. According to experts, the hybrid workplace model allows workers to get the work done depending on what makes more sense to them and what drives the highest levels of engagement and productivity.
Why is the hybrid work model becoming the norm?
Even before the coronavirus broke out in 2020, remote and hybrid work was happening in many parts of the world. However, it became more prevalent when COVID-19 came into the picture. This was because businesses had to overcome a mountain of challenges, keeping employees safe to ensure their companies stayed afloat despite everything that went on. Because of this, enterprises needed to provide their employees with the necessary tools to boost productivity and morale in a new workplace environment.
As lockdowns eased up in different parts of the world, it was clear to see that people preferred this new way of working because it gave them flexibility and autonomy to work at their own pace and somewhere they were most comfortable. Employees want to be able to choose where and when they work because of a variety of strong reasons.
One, less time commuting. Two, they want to have more time to spend with their families and loved ones. Third, there are days when they want to be with their workmates to work together and share the work that needs to be done to complete a project. All these equated to empowering companies and their workers with options that they can choose to best fit their priorities and schedules.
How does this affect the workplace?
Because of the popularity and demand for a hybrid workplace setup, employers are beginning to rethink their commercial office interior design in Singapore. To attract new talents and retain trusted employees, office layouts must be reshaped to increase the diversity of the workforce while remaining effective as a hybrid office setup.
The office is a social anchor. Workers who are collocated are able to work more cohesively and thus, be more productive. This is because working from home for the rest of your career can be too much of a good thing. Eventually, people will get bored and pine for face-to-face encounters with their colleagues. This is why it’s crucial for employers to hire a professional office space designer in Singapore that can rearrange your workplace and make it more suitable for a hybrid work model and more appealing to employees.
Conclusion
Despite the increasing number of people who are expressing their desire to work remotely, they still want to report to their respective workplaces because of the power of office design, which can impact employees’ attitudes toward work. Aside from that, nothing beats personal, face-to-face interactions with co-workers. Talk to an expert at Osca, and we’ll share our insights as to how to improve workspace productivity through intelligent design and modern office arrangement techniques, equipping your workspace to face the challenges of 2022 and ahead.