Ever heard the term, “WFH”?
In our current circumstances, chances are, even if you haven’t heard it, you’ve become familiar with what it means. “WFH” stands for “Work from Home”, and it became the norm for millions of people during lockdown.
Another term you may have heard is “WFO”, which means “Work from the Office”. And a combination of these two concepts is fast emerging as a new standard across the globe. It’s called “Hybrid Working” – a “marriage” of WFO and WFH – inadvertently kickstarted by the COVID-19 crisis and a new trend that is allowing workers more flexibility, while saving costs for employers.
A new mindset
Before COVID-19, companies commonly insisted that their employees had to be on-site during working hours, with very few exceptions. Pre-pandemic mindsets were less open to allowing employees to work from home. But when COVID-19 came, thinking had to change almost overnight.
The virtual world became the new office. And in many cases, productivity was boosted due to employees having better work-life balances due to the freedom of being able to work from home.
But has that productivity continued?, some may say you can have too much of a good thing! The inability to have variation in your working for many has turned on its head. Where many were tired from the full on 9-5 week plus commuting we are now going stir crazy staring at the same 4 walls day in and day out.
The answer? is to find a happy medium of WFH and WFO balance for each individual.
What exactly is a hybrid office?
As vaccines roll out and we begin to curb the spread of COVID-19, the hybrid office model not too dissimilar to the Activity Based Working model, is focused on creating spaces within the office to serve the employees who will be using it. We are seeing an upturn in collaboration spaces, more meeting rooms, and video conferencing because these are the types of activities within a business that don’t necessarily work remotely. Of course, the office won’t just become a hub for socialising, collaborating, and water-cooler chat. Many employees will also desire the office as a quiet retreat, a place with a desk and high-speed internet, that they might not have at home.
In the hybrid workspace, employees will have a choice to work remotely or office-bound. This approach maintains the freedom to work from home but curbs the isolation of doing it all the time.
The company office is still front and center. But organisations are kitting out their staff with tools that make them more productive from a distance as well. And in doing that, they are cutting company overheads to all-time lows.
Hotdesking for the win
Lockdown was tough for organisations across the board. And cutting costs in the COVID climate became a widespread necessity. In many cases, office spaces were either downsized or closed entirely to save money. And in terms of downsizing, hotdesking is one of the key drivers of hybrid working.
The hotdesking concept is optimising downsized office spaces, cutting costs and allowing employees to make the most of hybrid working. It’s the best of both worlds that reduce overheads by shrinking office space requirements for employers and offering employees more flexible working arrangements.
For smaller companies and ones that have downsized dramatically, hotdesking allows staff members to choose or book a desk when they aren’t working from home, rather than having a permanent desk allocated to them. This system is often based on a specific timetable, where employees rotate between necessary facetime at the office on certain days of the week and working from home on others.
How you work starts with YOU
Whether you’re going hybrid, WFH or WFO for your working model, the Sagal team believes that loving where you work, starts with YOU! We spend so much time working throughout our lives that having a work environment that makes you smile is extra important.
We believe that your work environment should inspire you to be great, and most of all, offer comfort and the best functionality to YOU, the user.
Yes, we supply office furniture. But we do more than just sell tables and chairs. We believe that your workspace should feel like home – whether it is at home or not. So, inspire yourself and work smart. Start by taking a look at our selection of innovative office solutions here.
