New research by the flexible workspace platform, Hubble, shows that businesses still haven’t ‘solved’ workspace, years after the post-lockdown working shakeup.
A survey of 200 business leaders reveals that businesses are still struggling to make their workspace work for their business. The survey of CEOs and leaders across HR, operations, and workspace, provides deep insights into the preferences and future plans of business leaders as they navigate the evolving workspace landscape. How this area develops will directly impact resilience planning.
Key findings of the survey include:
- Only half (50.2%) of leaders describe themselves as being ‘satisfied’ with their company’s current workspace setup.
- Over 2/3rds of leaders (68.7%) are planning to make changes to their workspace strategy in the next 12 months.
- Nearly 2/3rds of leaders (65.2%) want their employees in the office more – with CEOs the most likely to feel this way (87.5%).
- Two days a week is the most popular option for those planning to mandate staff back to the office.
Of the leaders surveyed, companies with a fully remote workspace strategy were the most likely to report being satisfied with their setup (57.4%), while those who are fully office-based were the least (43.8%). And when it comes to hybrid setups, satisfaction levels depended on the type of hybrid working adopted – with ‘set office days per week’ being the most popular (51.4%), ‘employee choice’ second (47.7%) and a ‘set number of days’ the least (44.2%).
Of those planning a change, the most popular options were going fully remote with workspace provision for staff if needed (31.9%); then getting a smaller office (24.6%), with getting a larger office and going totally remote both the option of choice for 21.7% of companies.
The conversation about return-to-the-office mandates is a highly-charged one – workers have built their lives around increased flexibility and have now come to expect it. But at the same time, the power of in-person working is undeniable – and being around colleagues can have enormous benefits for personal development, productivity, and happiness. I personally prefer the carrot and stick approach – creating an environment where employees feel incentivised to come to the office, and giving office days a sense of occasion.
Tushar Agarwal, Hubble CEO.
Leaders were split on how the pandemic had affected their productivity as a company. While 31.3% said they were more productive now compared to before the pandemic, 37.8% disagreed, with the rest unsure.
They were also split on whether their employees were enjoying more job satisfaction, with 37.8% agreeing employees have more job satisfaction now, compared to before the pandemic and 34.8% disagreeing.
