What does Hybrid Working Mean for Your Workplace?

Flexible working has long been a part of modern office life, however more recently this has evolved significantly into a more hybrid working model. 

Flexi-time has become redundant as employees embrace a working model that allows them time to work at home as well as spend important time in the office during the working week.

Hybrid Working The Numbers

It’s been a powerful shift in working practices and it looks like it’s here to stay. Recently Centric carried out a research project into the Future of the Workplace. The research found:

• 55% of people between the ages of 18 and 40 will only take jobs with flexible work schedules.
• 72% of employees, when they return to the office, want the flexibility to continue.
• 67% of business executives said they are thinking about revamping their offices to accommodate hybrid working.

With fewer people in the office on a regular basis, not only is hybrid working a change for employees, but it’s also a change for the office environment.

Facilities Management

Facilities maintenance: one of the biggest impacts, which could be positive both commercially and for the environment, is the opportunity to ‘switch off’ certain parts of an office building if they are not in use at certain times.  Effective Facilities Management is vital. This could mean savings on energy bills through reduced lighting and heating as well as allowing more targeted office cleaning to focus on areas that are in use.

Technology in the Hybrid Workplace

Technology: with more people needing to stay connected wherever they are working, technology has never been more important.  Hybrid working relies on good-quality communication at all times so video conferencing and presentation equipment needs to be fully integrated and fit for purpose, whilst the underpinning wi-fi network needs to be capable of coping with the demands placed up on it.

Collaboration space

Collaboration space: in a hybrid model, the main purpose of being in the office is collaboration and relationship building – two things that are more difficult to achieve when not face-to-face in the same environment.  It’s not enough to simply offer rows and rows of desk space anymore; employees are looking for creative and flexible space that will allow them to come together with purpose in a space that supports collaborative working ways. Changeable spaces might require multi-functional furniture too.

If you’d like to talk about how you can best maximise your working environment to suit modern ways of working then why not have a chat with our experts?  Whilst it might involve knocking down walls and making some big changes, it’s more than likely we can recommend some quick and easy things that would make an immediate difference for your workforce!