While Google has been hitting the headlines in the US for insisting that workers must be vaccinated before returning to the office, thousands of others have returned to the office leaving their kitchens, spare rooms, home offices, conservatories and resuming some sort of working day normality. Whether it be a full return to the office or some kind of hybrid arrangement, we take a look at the current state of play when it comes to going back to the office and how we can help the transition!
A Return to Normality
For at least the last year, many office workers have simply got out of bed, walked downstairs in their pajamas, and logged on to their laptops. That’s not before their first cup of coffee for the day.
Now, as we start to return to some sort of normality, we are once more getting dressed in office attire, grabbing that cuppa, and heading off in the car or on public transport back to the office.
Divided Opinion
There seem to be divided opinions on whether going back to the office is a welcome prospect. Some don’t want to ever return to the office environment while some welcome hybrid working and others can’t wait to get back to get over the remote working burnout.
Those Not Wanting to Go Back to the Office
Let’s look at why we wouldn’t want to return. Imagine many years ago being told you didn’t need to go to the office. No traffic jams and long commutes, longer lie-ins, not worrying about what to wear, saving money on expensive lunches and the cost of travel to and from the office. Some of us would have thought that was a welcome prospect.
As the world opened up over the course of the last few years and, thanks to technology, we embraced a day of remote working (usually a Friday) when some would finish early and sneak in a round of golf or a shopping trip.
Of course, when faced with the prospect of working at home every single day for the unforeseeable future, that changed things. Some actually preferred the shorter days thanks to no longer having to commute and the endless distractions as people would stop at your desk.
Wanting to Return to the Office
Then there are those that weren’t thrilled at the prospect of working from home. Not only did they have to think about getting their own work done but those with kids also had distractions to deal with such as home schooling! Not only that but being online meant you were always online – you couldn’t make excuses for not being able to do something because there was nothing else to do. You couldn’t turn down a Zoom meeting because what else were you doing?
On top of this, people missed human interaction, lunches, trips to the shops at lunchtime, chatting around the coffee machine, getting dressed for work, and using the time between the office and home where you could process your day and go through that wind down before you arrive home.
A Hybrid Approach
It seems for many that a hybrid approach could be one welcome step back to the office, for the short term at least. Going in for 3 days a week and working from home for 2 days for example has its merits.
Being on rotation so that not everyone is in the office at the same time could be a great way to keep numbers down in the office and give everyone some sort of new normal. Some companies have worked out that they don’t need so much office space and can downsize to smaller premises where they can have employees in a few at a time using a hot desk scenario.
It’s still early days as businesses try and navigate through the impact of the pandemic and what this means going forward. What we do know though is that, whatever you decide, we are here to provide great coffee, tea and biscuits for your staff.
