Although a new YouGov survey found that just one in five bosses will ask staff to sit at their central desk for a full working week, and with Institute of Directors claiming two thirds of business leaders will allow remote working, it has been quoted that the ‘new norm’ will be two days a week in the office and three days a week a home.
While businesses may have got their heads around flexible working arrangements in terms of efficiency and productivity, workers splitting their time between two locations present the conundrum of what the modern office should look and operate like.
At MPL we are used to helping companies solve problems when it comes to fluctuating workforces, how space is best and discovering new economies. If your business is working at a reduced capacity thanks to a split workforce, you may like to consider:-
1. Downsizing to a smaller office: if staff are working on a rotational basis, MPL can audit the space you have versus the number of people working together at any one time. The results may allow you to swap to a smaller, cheaper office or sublet out some existing space, with MPL creating a self-contained office to rent out.
2. Revamping meeting rooms: while home working is fantastic for a better work-life balance, employers have indicated that they’d still like staff to have regular team meetings in person. Meeting rooms will take on new providence and therefore need to be fit for multiple purposes. MPL recently created two private meeting rooms for Lanes Infrastructure with a retractable wall in between, allowing the space to be opened up for use as a conference or training facility.
3. Creating Zoom rooms: video calls are here to stay but they’re not very effective when conducted in an open plan office. Creating smaller, acoustically-sound Zoom rooms is a sensible idea, and MPL can install wall-mounted screens with the necessary data and power connections.
4. Converting to hot desking: if you’re looking at a situation where only half of your workforce are in the office at any one time, it may be possible to reduce the number of desks you have. Hot desking does mean zero personal effects left out, however, but this can be accommodated by the provision of staff lockers and central storage, as we did for Lanes Infrastructure.
