We launched an online survey a few weeks ago to better understand how people are finding working from home, and their thoughts on the future of work. We’re now starting to analyse the responses, and share some of the findings.
Last week we looked in more detail at what people are missing most about the office. This week we’re exploring how much people really want to work from home in future – and what this might mean for our workplaces going forward.
Working from the office vs. working from home
Before covid-19, how often did you used to work from home? Our survey shows that 59% people ‘never’ or only ‘occasionally’ worked from home pre-lockdown. And 21% people worked from home only one day per week.
The default was certainly to work in the office.
But now that we’ve all been under lockdown for weeks, people seem to have changed their perception of, and appetite for, working from home. Although the experience hasn’t been without its challenges, many people want to work from home much more post-lockdown.
73% people would like to work from home at least 2 days per week in future, and 43% at least 3 days.
Or turning that on its head, 73% people would like to only go in to the office for a maximum of 3 days, and 43% for a maximum of 2 days.
This would suggest there will no longer be such a clear ‘default’ place to work. The office will be one option, amongst others.
So if people were to work from home (or elsewhere remotely), as often as they say they would like to, what will be the impact on our offices?
The impact on our offices
As with everything at the moment, there is, of course, no black and white answer. The impacts of increased working from home will depend on the nuances of personal choice about working patterns, as well as business needs and business drivers. These various factors could have quite different implications for the office of the future, or at least, demand creative and flexible solutions to accommodate multiple options.
In terms of individual choice, it is likely that pre-existing tendencies to work from home on a Friday will continue – and possibly extend to a Thursday and/or a Monday too. Though some people will of course choose to vary their days in and out of the office.
But what would businesses prefer their people to do? Some businesses will be keen to spread people’s days in and out of the office across the week to be as efficient as possible with their space (and in time enable them to reduce their footprint).
Many businesses will however now be more aware than ever of the (increasingly) important role of the workplace, as a place to bring people together, to collaborate and build culture. And will therefore want to create certain times for everybody to come in. To work together face-to-face, to socialise with existing friends and contacts, and to establish new relationships – the very things that people are missing most about the office whilst working from home (read our previous blog on that, here). This would mean that the workplace would need to accommodate a higher peak at certain times / on certain days.
Harder working spaces – and employers
This needn’t necessarily result in a demand for more space – but it will certainly need a more creative approach to how space is set-up to be used flexibly and efficiently. For example, rather than creating ‘town hall’ spaces that accommodate all staff at a weekly meeting but that will then be under-used the rest of the week, we will need to create spaces that accommodate other activities at other times.
Our offices will need to work harder in other terms too. Once they are no longer the ‘default’, they will need to work hard to attract people to travel to them (the commute being the thing that people are missing least about working from home). To become a real ‘destination’ where people go to experience the brand and culture of the business. What workplaces do provide, they will need to provide really well. Such as carefully designed meeting, collaboration and social spaces – to allow the face-to-face interaction people are missing, and that space affords so well. And private and quiet concentration spaces (which are actually private and quiet) – especially for those who can’t find privacy and peace at home. Fewer people will go into offices to simply work at a desk. So this will be reflected in their provision as well.
And of course our employers will need to work that bit harder too, to support and manage their teams when working in a more dispersed way. And to ensure they are well set-up to work remotely – both through technology (tech to enable ‘work anywhere’ collaboration was deemed the most important design consideration for a post-covid world), and an ergonomic home set-up.
This will become the norm as the office evolves to become one of the places we work – albeit a key one.
The survey is now closed, after a brilliant 1,200 responses. Click here to read a summary of the results, and our reflections on them.