JLL’s Shaping the Future of Work for a Better World and Shaping Human Experience reports have explored the next chapter of the future of work, highlighting how companies can adapt to changing work expectations across the workplace and remain competitive when it comes to retaining staff.
According to the global services firm, it will be incumbent upon employers to offer their employees a choice in terms of their workstation, with some still retaining a strong affinity for the office. In fact, JLL’s research showed 70 per cent of the 2,000 office workers surveyed believe the office environment is more conducive to connecting with teammates to solve complex issues, manage direct reports and connect with leadership.
“JLL Research has found that the office provides a sense of community and belonging, where remote work has led to gaps in collaboration, leadership and managerial competencies,” said Ben Tindale, JLL’s managing director of Accounts – work dynamics Australasia.
“Moving forward, however, variety, flexibility and choice will be core tenets of all successful office environments.
“Traditional offices will act as the central hub for productivity and collaboration and provide a new purpose of driving sustained human performance, experience and well-being. JLL’s research finds that one in two employees, for instance, consider socialisation spaces crucial to their experience in the office in the future. Further, 74 per cent of employees agree that having the ability to go to the office remains fundamental.”
Another key factor in avoiding the great resignation is to shift from a “workplace-focused” to a “worker-centric” mindset, according to Mr Tindale, who noted that companies have already adjusted to greater workplace flexibility as a result of the pandemic, “but they will also have to lean into and proactively address changing workforce preferences in order to retain and attract top talent”.
“With work now truly boundary-less – where 66 per cent of employees expect to be able to work from different locations post-crisis – employees are requesting a safe, productive and seamless experience that satisfies their personal and professional needs,” Mr Tindale said.
“This will require employers to balance the dynamic between the physical and virtual workplace to meet employees’ diverse, changing needs and workstyles.
“Many employers are now starting to accept that they may never operate in the way they did pre-crisis again.
“Employers need to shape their workspaces according to the new ways of working imposed by the pandemic, and reinvent themselves to evolve alongside the workforce, rather than against it.”
Finally, Mr Tindale said greater care and emphasis will need to go into creating a workplace suitable to the needs of employees across the company, noting that JLL expects a significant shift in flexible space operating models.
“This ranges from landlords creating their own flexible space (or partnering with flexible space operators) to corporate occupiers considering a greater dispersion of their footprint to adapt to new working and living patterns, a dispersed, digitally enabled, liquid workforce will characterise the future of work,” he explained.
“While COVID-19 has incited a massive paradigm shift in the way we work and live, it is also providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape a better future of work.
“In the near future, successful companies will be those that are bold and proactive in shaping their workplaces according to the changing needs and preferences of a liquid workforce, where solutions are tailored to meet individual employee needs.”
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