Feature


Returning To Offices: How And Why We Should Act As Soon As Possible


By Niki Fuchs, Managing Director of Office Space in Town


UK productivity continues to decline. Output per worker was 8.8% lower in Q3 2020 compared to the same quarter last year,¹ following a fall of 19.9% in the first few months of the UK’s furlough scheme – the largest fall on record.


To get national productivity back on track, we should return to the office as soon as safety permits. This year has highlighted the shortcomings of working from home as a long-term arrangement, and it is therefore vital that we maintain the connectivity, collaboration, and comradeship which makes the office so popular.


A Lonely Workers’ Club


Returning to the office once it is safe will be a vital to boost to our ailing productivity, with increasing worker loneliness one of the main impediments to output since the beginning of the first lockdown. In fact, a recent study by the Mental Health Foundation revealed how widespread loneliness has become, with 1 in 4 adults reporting feelings of loneliness in the first national lockdown, up from 1 in 10 pre-pandemic. Moreover, these feelings have tangibly affected productivity, doubling workers’ average number of sick days.


So, welcoming employees back to the office would not only help to alleviate worrying strain on employees’ mental health but will also


play a vital role in businesses’ recovery from COVID-19.


An opportunity to resume regular contact with colleagues in a pandemic-proof manner would dispel the feelings of isolation which many workers have struggled with, providing a much-needed morale boost as UK businesses face prolonged uncertainty.


Two Types Of Connection


While technology has been heralded as the answer to remote workers’ woes, in reality employees have spent much of this year struggling to maintain digital links with their workplaces. Returning


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to an office environment would enable workers to remain in the loop and help safeguard the emotional bonds which keep workforces happy and healthy.


Embracing satellite flexible office space provides one solution to avoid keeping employees at home permanently, as the CRE sector as a whole is adopting the latest connectivity and cloud storage technologies at pace. Home-workers, by contrast, are forced to rely on their own facilities, which are rarely suited to supporting a virtual workspace. Indeed, 29% of workers identify their lack of equipment as the main downside of working remotely, with only 23% supported by employers to address these deficiencies.


A better investment for employers would prioritise equipping their offices with all the technology required to support workers safely and efficiently. Such support would improve employee loyalty, with 33% citing ease of collaboration as a key determinant of their loyalty to their employer. Tech-enabled offices can therefore bridge both physical and emotional distances between businesses and their workers.


Arrested Development


Businesses may have difficulty charting their trajectory beyond the uncertainty of the pandemic, but it remains crucial to stay tuned-in to workers’ feelings. And many workers are feeling short-changed by the loss of development opportunities this year, with team members missing out on regular contact with mentors and experienced colleagues.


In fact, the pandemic has made shelving most shadowing and mentorship opportunities necessary, and employers should realise that online interaction is no substitute from a professional development perspective. Moreover, employees are prepared to vote with their feet, with 68% of workers who changed jobs in 2018 doing so due to a lack of learning opportunities in their previous roles.


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