Why The Hybrid Office Is The Future Of Working

Current industry research has suggested that post-COVID, most employees will prefer a mix of office-based and remote-working, primarily for the flexibility and balance it will provide for their work-life balance. For them, what they need is a workplace that can adapt quickly to individual requirements; offering facilities for both those who work from home, as well as those in the office. This is what is known as the 'Hybrid Office'.

But how can a business go about creating one? Here, we'll be taking a look at what the industry has to say about post-COVID working styles, as well as offer an example of how a hybrid office works.

The rise of the hybrid office

The Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index Annual Report has suggested that hybrid working will become the new normal, with employees citing business leaders being 'out of touch' with their needs through the adoption of working styles that leaves the workforce exhausted, risks innovation, shrinks networks and generally stunts productivity.

IBM has also released a research report, titled 'An Injection of Hope' which is a look at life after the COVID-19 vaccine is widely distributed. It points to vaccinated people having the confidence to travel more and engaging in group social activities (albeit at a lesser level pre-pandemic).

Surveying office workers, the report identified that 62% of the respondents wanted to retain their current WFH arrangements – 44% of those wanting to do so after they receive the first vaccine, while 35% wanted to move to the Hybrid model.

Creating a hybrid workplace

To gauge the impact of hybrid working practices on current office spaces, let's run a scenario of how to best utilise the space (even if it means having less capacity).

Currently, many companies occupy spaces to suit their maximum headcount:

'Company A' has 100 full-time staff who attend the office daily, so the space is utilised for that. With the new hybrid regime, that same space may become occupied regularly by say, 50 staff. This leaves plenty of unused space, so what do you do?

Subject to lease terms, it may be preferable to move to smaller premises to save money or sub-let the space to generate revenue. It could be the case that the lease has an end/break clause that doesn't make it easy to reorganise, so the office is just left as is. As a result of not being able to update the layout or desk plan, the office will have lots of gaps that will work to isolate staff, creating a disjointed workforce, which is never ideal if you want to create a co-operative, driven and happy atmosphere.

If that is indeed the case, it's wise for businesses to make a short-term change to the design of their office, but also to 'mothball' or re-use any spare spaces for other activities (as mentioned above), just in case the free space is needed further down the line. This way, the business will get the best of both worlds; it's set up for flexible working now, while being ready to revert back when needed.

The bottom line is that there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to the design of 'the perfect office' – the perfect office is dictated by the specific needs of the business and its employees. While a degree of flexible working will be the norm for most firms in years to come, it's finding the right balance with the design that will help to make it a success.

Realise your ideal office, with Oaktree

If you're thinking about an office refurbishment for your own business to ready it for the return to work (and the future beyond that), why not consider getting in touch with our expert team who can advise you on the steps you need to take?

We office a completely FREE office design consultancy that looks at the available space, what you'd ideally want to do with it, the wishes of your employees (and anything else), before creating a design plan and 2-D/3-D images of what it all might look like.

Sound good? To learn more about hybrid office design, please do not hesitate to give our team a call today on 0345 21 86955 or e-mail hello@oaktreeoffice.com