The definition of an office is forever evolving with the pandemic changing the idea of a traditional workplace. Organisations and employees alike had to adapt quickly and with vaccinations rollouts and gradual easing of restrictions, they have begun to reconsider the concept as well as purpose of an office space. It has become important to reshape workplaces for the modern workforce and the post pandemic offices of tomorrow will have to be redesigned in such a way that it meets the changing needs and expectations of employers and employees, both.
As Google goes Hybrid…!!!
Google recently announced through Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai, that they are adopting a hybrid model; a combination of Work from Home and the Office. This development is a pointer to what will likely be the future of workplace models.
I have always and still maintain that the future of work / the workplace cannot be WFH alone – because we, as humans, are social beings. As such,’ in-person experiences’, ‘togetherness’, and ‘having a sense of community’ is still very important to us.
From the survey carried out by Google, 62% of its employees want to return to their offices at some point, but not every day. This is quite instructive as we would have thought that in places where the infrastructure that supports WFH exist, employees would rather work from home 100% of the time. This, however, was not the case.
Another interesting piece of information from the survey shows that 10% of Google employees (down from the initial 20% surveyed in May) said they would rather not come into the office at all
Comparing both results, the 10% reduction in the most recent survey is a reflection of the experiences Google employees had while working from home, and their cravings for physical interactions over virtual interactions.
To cap it up, the survey pointed out that the reasons why google employees want to return to their offices include: face time with colleagues, the ability to socialize, and better collaboration opportunities. This is a confirmation of my firm belief that we all crave social interactions.
The new normal workplace model will certainly be interesting, as it will be flexible and hybrid; with employee wellbeing influencing the balance of power in decision making.