Meetio

Before our world changed so dramatically, you were probably preparing for another year at the office – working standard hours from your own desk, face-to-face meetings, and the daily water cooler talks.

You may have wished to work from home sometimes, but your employer was somewhat hesitant about remote work. When you did work from home, remote meetings and internal communication may have seemed like a hassle. However, the one hour commute did leave you with time to catch up on your favorite podcast. Nothing to complain about, right?

Little did we know...

By now, you've been working from home for months. Digital meetings are the new normal and you've likely enjoyed some virtual happy hours. Even if you miss your colleagues and social interactions at the office, working from home is not that bad.

The primary focus for companies now is to figure out how to get people back to the office safely. The days where people sat close to each other is over. How do we prepare our workplaces for the transition? Stricter cleaning policies, rotating schedules or should we let go of our pride i.e. the grand (but very expensive) city center HQ? Real estate strategies are at play as companies consider modifying their footprints.

How we address these questions will have a huge impact on the post 2020 workplace.

Ideas and theories of how our workplaces will function in the future are plentiful. Most agree that things have to change. The flexibility and freedom people have experienced working remotely seems to have worked more effectively than anticipated for both employee and employer. Few of us wants to return to the office full time, instead, the majority prefer a hybrid model.

We believe that the future workplace will serve as an arena for interaction and collaboration. Much of the high-focus work will be conducted remotely and the days we spend at the office fills the need for in person communication. Design and tech are evolving to better support our new way of working. Welcome the new era!