It is clear that since the COVID-19 global pandemic the way we work will never be the same again. The office of the future will have a new purpose and a new vision and be unlike anything we have ever seen before. Going forward, an organisation’s staff will need a very compelling reason to leave their homes; and the workplace will need to offer people something they cannot get from their home office environment. Through all our research we have found one consistent theme – and it’s that there’s no singular experience of life and work during the global health emergency that started early in 2020.
The work we do at Future X Collective is focused on creating the optimum workplace experience in the post covid workplace. Our purpose centres around workplace transformation and how issues such as workplace wellbeing, change readiness, agile working technology, a high-performance culture, hybrid working and workspace designs play a key role in determining a bespoke future of work.
Following are some of the things we recommend our clients address when considering their own workplace strategy:
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The Working Week will Change: the standard working week of Monday til Friday 9am to 5pm is no longer relevant. This has been evolving for many years, but it is now finally a thing of the past. Hours, working times and days are all up for grabs in the new post pandemic world of work.
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Elevating the Role of Technology: Future of work technology and Virtual tools have a bigger role to play, not only in supporting how we work, but how we truly connect, build relationships and empathise with each other virtually, especially in instances when face to face can be a less desirable option.
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Culture drives Success: More than ever, the culture of an organisation will determine people’s workplace experience. The physical environment will need to underpin this high-performance culture. Culture drives loyalty, shared purpose and the capacity of an organisation to thrive. Leadership will require new skills and expertise in the post pandemic workplace.
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100% Wellbeing: From ergonomics to mindfulness to resilience, physical fitness and mental health – these will play an even bigger role in the future culture of a business – and we will be prioritising mental, emotional and physical health when it comes to our workspaces. Performance and wellbeing are elevated like never before.
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Authentic Leadership: Leadership is entering a new era post COVID-19. It will be more relationship based – where leaders are genuine, can share openly with their teams and create an overlap of personal and professional networks that leads to new concepts of teamwork and trust. Culture Shaping will go a long way to determining an organisations success in the post covid workplace.
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Future-Ready Workplace: It is entirely likely that we will face future pandemics in our lifetime. Workplace design will need to consider this, and intelligent workplace designs will factor in the ability to quickly convert a physical space to one that can cope with any sort of health emergency. The workplace of the future is designed for opportunities rather than a fixed purpose.
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Mental Agility vs Behavioural Inertia: – The rapid and unprecedented shutting down of the world early in 2020 forced everyone to adopt behaviours they’d been resisting for years, creating a new openness and mental agility. The businesses that will survive and thrive are the ones with a new mental agility – supporting innovation, creativity and a growth mindset.
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Compelling Work and Places; many organisations are now blending Working From Home with Working from the office, which means there now has to be a damn good reason to leave the comfort of home and travel to a large city office. The ‘why’ of an organisation’s people coming together will be fundamental.
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Curation of Space and Data Metrics; individuals and teams will split their working days between the tasks preferably done in the office with tasks preferably done at home. Teams may rotate or stagger when they come into the office, meaning booking systems, future of work technology, data and analytics will play an increasingly important role in management of environments and teams.
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Collaborate, Focus and Socialise; these have long been the three main reasons why people come to a workplace. Post 2020 however, the emphasis on what is done in an office continues to evolve, and teams and individuals are seeking office spaces that support greater Collaboration and Social connections; Focussed work is predominantly done at home.
(Image source: Parabol)
