Flexible working here to stay, but the office is not dead

Covid-19 has given rise to a seismic shift in operational and cultural norms in the workplace. Gone are the days of packed underground carriages, bustling platforms, and crippling traffic jams, as social distancing measures have forced companies to adopt remote and flexible working operations.

Many commentators and business leaders argue that COVID-19 has sparked a long-overdue rehash of outdated working norms – nearly half of all UK business leaders (45%) believe that the working environment will change for the better due to the virus, and the British workforce seems to agree. Research carried out by chartered accountancy and consultancy firm Theta Global Advisors recently revealed that two-thirds of working Brits say that commuting was the most stressful part of the day, and 57% of people do not want to go back to the normal way of working in an office environment with normal office hours.

However, while huge swathes of prime office real estate right in the heart of the city may no longer be justified, claims that offices are now completely redundant are equally unjust.

Firstly, onsite training and team-building is a key part of a successful working environment. Research from Theta Global Advisors also discovered that since the pandemic, over a quarter (26%) of people said they have not received the requisite training to do their job efficiently in lockdown, as they have not been able to benefit from a structured in-person training plan.
Furthermore, team camaraderie, creativity and spontaneous problem solving are also suffering, with research from Workthere revealing that 49% of London-based office staff miss the social office environment, and more than a quarter reported that they can no longer bounce ideas off colleagues.

Chris Biggs, Partner at Theta Global Advisors, comments on the research findings and discusses why we must rethink the use of offices in the working environment post-COVID to reap the benefits:

“From the removal of the commute to boosted productivity when working from home, there are numerous benefits to flexible working that the pandemic has uncovered for millions of employers and employees alike.

However, while the need for large, centralised offices is clearly no longer there, having access to office space is still essential, and will prove to be very useful in the coming months as the grip of the pandemic begins to loosen.

Having a company office is extremely helpful for delivering training, building team camaraderie and a beneficial social component to the work environment, and encouraging spontaneous creativity and problem solving, to name a few benefits.

Whilst a huge office block may be somewhat outdated, having a network of smaller, distributed offices throughout the city and introducing staggered working could prove incredibly beneficial, and would allow business leaders and employees alike to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Business leaders would do well to realise that the ‘new normal’ of flexible, remote working is here to stay, and should adapt now to pivot their business, remove unnecessary overheads and commit to a plan for a post-COVID future. However, this plan should certainly take into account the benefits of on-site working and the numerous positive effects that an office, or offices, can provide.”