3 things you should know about returning to work in 2022
It’s 2022 — and we have entered a new era of work. As employees begin returning to the work, it’s time to consider how things have changed in a post-pandemic world. Unsurprisingly, after two years, employees have had enough of looking at the same four walls every day. And employers are keen for teams to come back to the office and connect in person again. But the pandemic has brought about change and transformation in nearly every area of our lives — and the world of work is no exception. While many companies are opening their offices back up, it’s impossible to ignore the world of possibility that remote working has brought about. So, as we move away from the depths of the pandemic, how does returning to work look? Here are a few things you should know about returning to work in 2022.
3 things you should know about returning to work in 2022
1. The office is a place for collaboration
While remote working has many advantages, it falls short in a critical area: collaboration.
Nothing beats the energy of a face-to-face meeting, where conversation can flow naturally, and no one has to worry about unmuting themselves.
So, when bringing employees back to the office, your space should help encourage collaboration.
Employers should consider whether their current office space truly helps employees reap the benefits of being together in the same room.
Is there enough collaboration spaces, in-room or break out spaces? Is the AV set up for a smooth meeting room experience that benefits both in-person and remote attendees? And are there quiet area workspaces for people to do focussed work while not collaborating?
These are all important questions to consider before employees return to the office. If you’re asking your team to make the commute to work, the office environment must make the journey worthwhile.
If you’re struggling to optimize your office space to improve utilisation, promote collaboration and boost experience, smart scheduling can help. Our unique combination of scheduling and space utilization software can help you make data-driven resource and real estate decisions to make sure your office space is truly meeting the needs of your workers in 2022.
From reducing your portfolio by saving on unnecessary leases or underused space, and maximising use of resources such as desks and rooms through to data-driven workplace design, our software will allow you to reduce cost while positively impacting employee productivity and workplace experience — so that your teams will want to return to the office!
2. Peace of mind for employees returning to the office
While many are keen to jump back into normal life, the pandemic has by no means disappeared.
Employees may have concerns about returning to the work office and the ongoing risk of catching COVID-19 and its variants. So, if your company is moving towards a hybrid-working model, it’s important that your workplace policy and office workspace design helps everyone feel safe.
There are a wide range of measures you can put in place to ensure your office is suitable for a world where COVID-19 still exists.
You could consider removing some desks to create additional space between employees while working. Hand sanitizer stations and readily-available anti-bacterial wipes are also good ideas and have been the main stay over the past 2 years.
Depending on your work environment (and local regulations), you may encourage employees to keep face masks on when in communal areas.
It’s also worth chatting to your employees about whether they feel comfortable hot-desking or whether they’d feel safer using preassigned desks.
Adopting a hybrid working model doesn’t just encourage flexibility — it can also be a great way to create a COVID-safe office environment – providing you can spread demand for coming into the office to avoid too many people coming in on any given day. Gone are the days of cramming too many people into tiny meeting rooms — in 2022, it might make more sense to limit the number of employees who can come into the office on any one day, or even better make smart suggestions about when to come in during their booking process enabled by a leading scheduling solution.
With the right scheduling software, your teams can book meeting rooms and office spaces remotely, meaning they always have access to the rooms and desk they need to plan their day with the people they want to work with when they come to the office.
3. Employees crave ‘in real life’ social interaction
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last two years, most of us crave human interaction.
While a day at home in pajamas sounds lovely every so often, many of us struggled with working remotely five days a week throughout the pandemic.
Whether for social interaction, mental health reasons or just a change of scenery, your teams are likely to want to return to an office space where they can see colleagues face-to-face — rather than on video calls!
So, as your company returns to the office, you’ll want to consider whether your office space helps encourage the moments of human interaction that your teams will have missed throughout the pandemic, after all the office has changed its purpose from banks of desks occupied 9-5 to a place where collaboration and culture happens.
Spaces for socializing and catching up — including break out sessions, 121 catch-ups, lunches, coffee breaks, and after-work catch-ups — are just as important to your employees as optimized specific workspaces.
Let us help you reorganize and repurpose your office for hybrid work success
Smartway2 can help you enhance productivity and employee experience as you return to the office in 2022. From giving you clear insights into resource scheduling and space utilization to helping employees remove some of the friction of hybrid working like finding when coworkers will be in the office and booking desks or rooms before they get there, using our fully-featured workplace scheduling solution is a great way to adapt to the 2022 world of work.
Want to see Smartway2 in action? Get in touch with us and request a demo today!
