Office, Hybrid, Remote - And the Future of Work winner is 🏆…

Will the future of work be remote? Where do we stand? And what are the companies and employees opting for? Here is an answer to many questions you have in your mind!

We are at the dawn of a new era - the modern workspace post-covid. Corporates are now seeing the benefits of alternate work styles that had never been considered, and the future looks very interesting.

CURIOUS? Yes, I mean it. Imagine, we have companies retracting their WFA policies and industries going back and forth, unable to decide what is right for the future of working.

👉🏽 Remote Working is ending for Indian IT Industry

We looked at some of the common threads that have been showing up across India and found some fascinating trends...

👉🏽 50% of office occupiers prioritised scalability, flexibility and employee wellbeing.

👉🏽 65% prioritised office amenities that could enhance employee wellbeing

👉🏽 73% of employees want flexible work options to become a main stay

👉🏽 66% of business leaders considered redesigning offices spaces for Hybrid work

All these data points showed us a clear trend that workspaces all around us are going to face a major overhaul. The future of workspaces can be expected to be an amalgamation of industrial era offices intricately intertwined with modern coworking and collaboration spaces.

There are 3 key trends that are expected to shape the modern workspace. These are:

Wide Variety of Work Models to Choose from

Remote work is like an ocean – it is vast. In recent times, we have seen companies experimenting between different types of work models and figuring which is the most suitable for their employees as well as business revenues. While there are two sides to every coin, companies want to focus on both sides and adapt to models that are profitable in every way. Broadly describing, here 3 popular remote work models :

💻 Virtual (Remote) First

The virtual first or 100% remote companies are those which are by default working across regions and are virtually connected. They do not have a physical office campus and employees are distributed across the globe. The company does not direct where to work out and employees have the freedom to choose where they want to work - work from home, workation, coworking space or work from anywhere even your wedding!

Quick Read 5 companies that are killing it with remote culture - What can we learn from them?

🤯 Hybrid office model

This is the most trending model of working. This is something most of the customers of GoFloaters are leaning towards as it is adding a lot of more value to their employee and business relations. This is an accommodating model where employees are free to choose where they want to work from – the office campus, for X number of days of the week and maybe the neighbourhood coworking space or WFH for Y number of days!

Tech giant like Apple is looking to follow the similar route 👉Apple's return to office policy - Good or Bad.

Flexible Work Model 🤩

While very similar to the Hybrid office model, the flexible hybrid work model allows you the freedom to choose how, when, and where you want to 'gang-up' with your team, colleagues to work– although the choice can be by an individual as well.

In our opinion being the booking experts, the patterns we see in this model is that the decision to work out of a common workspace - be it office campus, meeting space or coworking space is made by the teams and colleagues. This in turn is aimed at encouraging face-to-face collaborations, boosting morale and avert WFH fatigue and loneliness.

In the recent past, most companies have given up their office real-estate and find value in driving this culture of hybrid remote work.

Here is a classic example of How Notion Press publishing increased team bonding during the pandemic

The newer value add-ons and compliances

Remote working is now offering endless opportunities. From permitting hiring of remote talents to allowing mothers to get back to the working profession, remote work is benefiting many.

In the reverse if you ask, what benefit does the business get in return? Multifold! Yes, best of talents, lower attrition, better and a greater number of productive days than silly excuses of absence.

With remote work revolutionising the way we work; workspaces for work and meeting also need to change. Workplace amenities are becoming a priority for modern spaces. Coffee machines and pantries are simply no longer enough.Child-friendly day-care services, restaurants, retail outlets and becoming significant factors in selecting office and co-working spaces.

Hygiene Factors:

COVID-19 has impacted our lives in many ways. As we move from office campuses to on-demand cubicle spaces, managed office or service spaces, there is an increased need for health and safety measures confirmed with COVID protocols.

Indispensable needs, which has been further highlighted in recent time –

1.Location advantage - Neighbourhood and easy access to spaces

2.Regular temperature checks and entry scans

3.Double sanitisations

4.Privacy and independent space for work

5.Ergonomic and well-ventilated spacious design

6.Safe yet collaboration zones for teams

7.Video conferencing and tech support

8.Strengthened cybersecurity

Conclusion

What we are sure of is the way we work. Since the industrial revolution there has been the set routine of 9-to-5 work life generations after generations. Since March 2020, that has been changed.

It is a wait and watch situation about what exactly is going to be the future of work, because business managers will keep experimenting till they arrive on one solution that thrives all.

Tell us how your company is handling it - going fully remote or opting for a Hybrid work model?