Reimagining the Office and Work Life After Covid-19
This pandemic has forced organizations and individuals to adapt to the ever evolving ways of working. In order for employees to be productive and enjoy their jobs and home lives, companies must rethink the office.
Industry news curated by Pivot's team. Article published on McKinsey.com.
McKinsey & Company: "Across industries, leaders will use the lessons from this large-scale work-from-home experiment to reimagine how work is done—and what role offices should play—in creative and bold ways."
With these unprecedented times, companies have had to change their mindset when it comes to the physical office and the conventional perceptions of what the workplace stood for: culture, productivity, and acquisition of top talent.
In contrast to the pre-Covid times of securing prime office space and promoting collaboration through open-office designs or "hoteling" stations, companies are surprised to find that working from home has led to positive results. According to McKinsey & Company research, 80% of individuals surveyed said they enjoyed working from home; 41% stated they were more productive at home; and 28% said they were just as productive at home.
"Many employees liberated from long commutes and travel have found more productive ways to spend that time, enjoyed greater flexibility in balancing their personal and professional lives, and decided that they prefer to work from home rather than the office. Many organizations think they can access new pools of talent with fewer locational constraints, adopt innovative processes to boost productivity, create an even stronger culture, and significantly reduce real-estate costs."
While some companies may be embracing this opportunity to free themselves of the limitations and hefty price tag of the corporate office, some argue that company cultures will slowly wear away without the impromptu social collaboration that occurs during time spent at the workplace. The reality is both sides are probably right to some extent, as every company and their culture are different, as are the circumstances of each employee.
Four Steps to Reimagine Work and the Office:
- Reconstruct how work is done
- Decide "people to work" or "work to people"
- Redesign the workplace to support organizational priorities
- Resize the footprint creatively
The time is now for leadership to act and make sure that when employees return to the offices, that the workplace is both a safe and productive environment.
Read the full article here: Mckinsey.com
About the authors: Brodie Boland, Aaron De Smet, Rob Palter, and Aditya Sanghvi
