The full return to the workplace may be something that most will frown upon due to the flexibility of working from home, the workforce needs to manage the shift back to the return to office workplace. With any form of comparison, there is a saying that goes "The grass is greener on the other side" ; there are definitely cons of working from home permanently.
Technology has played a significant role in making virtual collaboration possible with video and audio capabilities to increase the "closeness" with you and your members or customers. However, the virtual closeness cannot replicate the "real" intimacy of human interaction that is present in the physical workplace.
Do you miss meeting your work buddies face to face? Fancy a lunch gathering with your co-workers? Having a friendly banter with clash of opinions? There has been cases that has reported in the Straitstimes that some workers find it difficult to work from home because of the lack of proper equipment for virtual collaboration or not having a proper environment to work from home.
More often than not, it does take more time for decisions to be made in a virtual collaboration. This may hinder project progress especially where frequent discussions are needed to make decisions.
The return to the workplace definitely has its benefits :
Benefit #1 : Increase In Focus & Concentration
Being in the office does help in focus and concentration as the presence of others has an impact to the amount of work that can be achieved. The social pressure to perform or when a supervisor is present can make people become more focused.
Benefit #2 : Improve In Collaboration
The physical interaction present in the workplace can increase opportunities to innovate or give birth to fantastic ideas to market. The ease of calling team members to a quick huddle does have a significant difference to working from home arrangements. The ability to gather quick feedback on a topic or subject is performed easily in a physical space.
Benefit #3 : Bring Life Back Into Work
Socialization is a main ingredient of great mental well being for human beings like you and me. The ability to hear personal stories of your co-workers over a meal or at the pantry keeps you refreshed and energised to continue working for the rest of the day. This boost in relationships and communication would improve morale and happiness levels in the team and the workplace. Imagine stepping into a shopping mall at 3am in comparison to being there during the peak hours, the mere presence of clusters of people does bring life to a physical space.
As with remote or physical working arrangement, organisational leaders need to mindful on how hybrid working arrangements can co-exist as the pandemic is still at large in many parts of the world. With any new arrangements, team members would need time to adjust to the new expectations and ways of working.
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