Time to explore what employees want in the post-lockdown work environment
As the world adjusts to a new normal after emerging from strict pandemic lockdowns, employers are struggling to figure out the best way to get work done. Many employers and employees alike tout the advantages of hybrid arrangements, some employees insist on continuing remote work, and others are eager for the camaraderie and collaboration opportunities of completely in-person work.
Balancing the work styles and needs of different personalities and professions isn’t easy. So, employers now find themselves encountering demands for a change from pre-pandemic office environments.
What employees want and need
Many employers are working hard to entice workers back to the office, but in many cases, they’re meeting resistance. Sometimes people are still anxious about the dangers of COVID-19, others don’t want to return to frustrating commutes, and some have taken full advantage of remote work arrangements by moving far away from their old offices.
So, employers are looking to new kinds of office design and different kinds of perks to retain and motivate talent. What does that talent want? Framery, a company that designs soundproof spaces for offices, surveyed over 4,000 white-collar employees and found 57% said access to privacy is the most prized office perk.
“Companies are eager to get people to return to the office,” according to a June article on Framery’s website. “But the pool tables, beanbags, and ball pit meeting rooms they left behind aren’t going to bring them back.”