Flexibility has become the new normal of the co-working industry!
Seemingly overnight, professionals around the world were forced to work from home. While back then we thought that this would just be a week-long scenario but the unforeseen reality shook us all. The past year uprooted some decade-long misconceptions about agile working and paved the way for new Coworking Space aggregators like Stylework and now here we are successfully forming the most optimal work strategies for the new normal.
With mandatory social distancing norms and physical constraints, remote working became an overnight phenomenon for organizations. While the initial results of work from home were euphoric, we now see fatigue settling in as the lines between work and home are blurring. Thus it has become important for companies to create policies that describe a clear demarcation between the two, to make remote working sustain in the longer run.
The walk to work or drive to work model gained popularity due to the situation we are living in right now. Keeping in mind the current scenario, it is not advisable to travel to far-off places to work. According to a Harvard study, 75% of the employees prefer living close to their workspace as it makes the commute shorter and saves a lot of time. The rise of the ‘walk to work’ model has forced companies to explore coworking spaces that are tech-enabled and have the necessary office infrastructure for maximizing the productivity of their employees. When employees work in crumpled offices, they can often lose sight of the fact that they are part of a larger organization. However, when employees are working in open spaces, the chances are more to interact and network with people around them and this is exactly where coworking solves the purpose.
In order to keep pace with the changing environment, it is essential that flexibility must be core to any companies go-forward strategy. To fulfill these demands, even flexible office space providers are evolving their strategies. Subscription-based models that accommodate a more distributed network of people, as well as suite offerings that prioritize privacy over the community, are gaining popularity. By reducing time and energy drains, remote work increases the productivity of employees. Coworking spaces have become the preferred workspace of today’s workforce. This is more true than ever, especially as more businesses turn to permanent remote work solutions in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak. Flexible workspace solutions are being incorporated into the real estate strategies of companies embracing hybrid work models in order to meet the needs of remote workers from various locations.
In the last 20 years, the modern office has gone through a number of changes. The early 2000s saw the death of cubicles and the rise of open floorplans and then in 2015, offices got flooded with foosball and ping pong tables. Whereas now, post-pandemic, flexibility is what everyone wants. Employees now want flexibility on when and where they work and it often becomes difficult to provide such kind of flexibility in traditional offices. The business benefits of remote working have been known for years now, however, it took a global pandemic to fully convince businesses to embrace the remote working model. The future of work is hybrid, and companies need to prepare for it.
