How Offices Are Championing the Return to Traditional Schedules
After two years of working from home, returning to the office felt like a homecoming for many. More companies have welcomed employees back to permanent spaces this year, whether with soft openings, hybrid schedules, or diving completely in.
Tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft announced that employees would work in the office for at least three days a week. Others like Goldman Sachs and Tesla have reportedly invited employees back to full-time, traditional in-person schedules.
The Thought Behind Being Together
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has vocalized his preference for firm in-person work, even writing in a workplace email: “Tesla has and will create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth. This will not happen by phoning it in.”
A study published in Nature Human Behavior in January of 2022 revealed that working from home caused coworkers to become less interconnected and, therefore, less likely to communicate with each other. Being together in person is a catalyst for creativity and collaboration that companies are embracing as the pandemic ebbs and they return to in-office schedules.
In-person socialization is an incomparable benefit of being together and helps build an employee’s identification with the company. When someone has a secure attachment and identifies with their company, they are more likely to stay loyal to their employer.
Incentives
In April 2022, workplace platform Envoy surveyed 800 company leaders. The results showed that 88% of companies were using incentives to bring workers back to the office. Those incentives included bonuses, food trucks regularly on site for lunch, paid time off, or shifting to a four-day workweek. The survey also revealed that 61% of businesses are making changes to the physical workspace, as the workplace is once again front and center.
How can you continue to keep people motivated to come into the office? If you are a company leader welcoming employees back to a traditional office space and wondering how to engage employees, don’t underestimate the pull of the workspace atmosphere. Making the office a beautiful, efficient space that people enjoy is one change that will go a long way.
Take some time to think about it or collect feedback from your employees. Are there changes that you could make to the workspace that would impact your team’s willingness to be more present and engaged while at work?
What Works
Companies with a positive, employee-focused work environment naturally have better results in retaining employees. If your space meets the needs and desires of your workers, they will be much more excited about returning each day.
Amidst a surge of demand during the pandemic, international shipping and supply chain UPS continued to hone its purpose as a powerful brand. One move was to change the name of the UPS executive offices in Atlanta from the Plaza to Casey Hall. CEO Carol B. Tomé described it as a switch from a cold, intimidating, and formal title to something warm, inviting, and casual.
Similarly, tech companies like Meta and Google refer to their offices as “campuses” to encourage creativity and learning, similar to college.
If something symbolic like a name matters this much, consider the impact of more tangible office qualities like furniture, paint colors, flooring, and all the other elements that compose a workspace. Commercial office furniture suppliers and commercial interior design firms like ours work with companies to design offices that employees love and want to return to.
One of our clients in the greater Phila area consolidated their space onto one floor instead of the three floors they had before. Some team members are assigned permanent spaces, while other hybrid schedule employees use the remaining cubicles as hotel spaces when collaborating in the primary physical office space. We helped them reorganize and move furniture to best suit their new workflow, and their team will be celebrating with a picnic when everyone returns.
In the same vein, San Francisco-based software company Salesforce opted for a 40% reduction in the number of desks to create a more defined space for collaboration. To do so, Salesforce added more booths, cafes, communal tables, couches, whiteboards, and mobile audiovisual equipment in an effort to allow teamwork to happen more often and organically.
If the idea of neighborhood-centric spaces rather than a maze of desks sounds appealing or advantageous to you, our team at Furniture Soup is here! We can help you design a floor plan and implement changes that allow for stronger work in the office, both individually and collaboratively.
Hybrid schedules require flexibility, along with the right space and furniture to accommodate everyone’s daily needs. Furniture that can be moved and reconfigured is trending because it enables employees to make adjustments as needed and without a fuss. Outlet-equipped furniture is another feature favored in today’s workforce so anyone can plug in whatever they need, wherever they sit.
Best Commercial Office Furniture Supplier and Commercial Interior Design Firms in Reading, PA
If you’re searching for the right commercial office furniture supplier or commercial interior design firms to help you welcome employees back to an office they won’t want to leave, reach out to Furniture Soup. Like a good bowl of soup, we design with just the right ingredients.
With headquarters and a showroom located just north of Lancaster, PA in Reading, PA, Furniture Soup has been happily serving clients in Reading, Lancaster, and the greater Phila area since 2003. Read a sampling of what some happy clients have to say about working with us.
Whether you’re looking for assistance with commercial space planning and interior design or need a trustworthy commercial office furniture supplier to redesign your office, it’s Furniture Soup to the rescue! Call us at 610-926-8700 or contact us here.