Death of the office? Not quite

What did technology ever do for us?  Until a year ago, you could argue that the tech’ advances we were once told would give us more leisure time actually made us slaves to our electronic devices and answerable to “The Man” for even more hours in the day.  As well as that, automation and more efficient trans-continental connectivity facilitated outsourcing and offshoring to a greater extent, killing the concept of a “job for life” for experienced admin’ specialists here at home.

Fast forward to now, how do we feel as employees and employers that the very same technology has allowed (forced) us to do our job from home.  Anecdotally, I’m hearing from an employee perspective that some are working more hours remotely than they ever did in the office.  Response times from colleagues are slower - you can’t walk two desks away to get an answer and everything just takes longer.  The commute time that you were hoping to get back for yourself is actually spent hunched over the laptop at home.

Managers talk of reduced productivity within their remote admin’ teams and a sense of lost control.  Creative and sales teams miss the spark that comes from collaborating face to face and reinforcing goals.  We once took our workplace for granted, but now appreciate its importance in providing routine, friends, a sense of belonging and an extended social life.

Reaction to 11 months of remote working hasn’t all been negative though.  How many of us have made the most of new found flexibility to cover school runs, tend to elderly parents, or have a run in the park during 9-5?  Who has missed the commute, a hurried lunch at the desk, obligatory team drinks and long days in the City?  We are no longer strangers to the family and I think on the whole we’ve enjoyed having more time at home.

So, what happens next, do we predict the end of the office?  Talking to various client companies the answer is “no”, but it looks like we won’t go back to the way we were for the foreseeable future.  Most employers are planning a blended approach once the return happens, where employees will be working from home and office in roughly equal parts.  Offices are closing or downsizing under more of a “hot desk” regime, so the kinds of logistical and cultural change that might have happened at a snail’s pace have been fast tracked to now.  A negative knock-on for ancillary businesses reliant on a busy City for footfall seems inevitable, but remains to be seen.