Now more than ever, businesses need to offer an office that is unlike any other: one that is valuable and appealing enough to attract people to return to work after years of working remotely.
In order to make the office a more attractive place, leaders need to design an office that reflects the needs and circumstances of many different types of workers.
The decision to return to work after a prolonged absence is not an easy one. One of the biggest reasons why people choose to do so is to regain a sense of workplace culture and community.
A recent study by LinkedIn revealed that 57 percent of workers feel that their ability to engage in office small talk has suffered since they began working from home. This, in turn, has led to plummeting mental and physical health levels, with greater levels of loneliness often referred to as “The Second Pandemic”; the physical workspace is one of the only ways to combat loneliness in an increasingly digital world, and as such employers must prioritize creating a community.
What can organizations do to foster friendships and build a strong culture and community, along with support for hybrid working? In this article, we’ll explore how great culture is the first step to bringing people back to the office and how workspace design supports this goal.
Reinforcing Company Culture
The post-pandemic Great Resignation has made it abundantly clear that in order to retain and attract talent, corporations must treat their employees as customers. This means implementing policies and design that address the concerns of their employees so they can demonstrate a strong company culture.
The workplace has changed drastically in the past decade, with a brand-new generation of workers entering the workforce that may have never had a face-to-face group meeting before, and who have very different ideas about what constitutes a great workspace than their older generation co-workers.
Businesses should use this opportunity to ask their employees what they would like to see and experiment with a number of design solutions before making an informed decision, based on feedback. This exercise shows that businesses value their people by building bespoke solutions around their requirements.
To reinforce their company values, corporations can select furniture with flexibility, mobility or agility to reflect the company’s culture for comfort, wellness and health. When considering bringing a new diverse workforce back into the office, companies can offer dedicated spaces for mentoring and networking to support young people entering the workplace for the first time, as well as employees returning who may feel overwhelmed.
Workplace adjacency are another way to combat feelings of being disconnected at work. Similar to your friendly neighborhood, open workspace design can be organized into communities of people who have similar jobs or collaborate often. Employees become members of groups instead of being assigned a desk, which supports impactful ways to work while enhancing collaboration and boosting productivity.
The key is to pay careful attention to the design details when creating your office space. Every decision should be made with care, and it should reinforce the goals of your company and its culture. Employees will feel as though they're a part of something important if they can see how their work contributes to the company's success.