80 VIEWPOINT Reaching the tipping point BRAD HINTZE: CRESTRON Hybrid and remote working have become permanent features of a transformed world of work. Organisations are starting to implement new strategies that acknowledge these changes There has been a tipping point in the adoption of modern work practices after the pandemic. New ideas that have only recently been piloted at a small scale on the margins of organisations are now set to go mainstream. In Crestron’s Tackling the Modern Workplace by the Numbers report, a survey of IT leaders showed that 79 per cent planned to update their hybrid work strategy in the next 12 months, and 71 per cent said they would replace their existing collaboration platform in the same time frame. It is clear that major change is afoot. Tracking studies of employee sentiment consistently show that people are unwilling to relinquish the new freedoms which they first tasted during the pandemic. For example, research conducted by Nordic facility management company Coor in 2022 revealed that 41 per cent of employees were willing to leave their job if they were not offered flexibility, increasing to 51 per cent among 18 to 30-yearolds. Facilitating these arrangements is therefore even more crucial to ensuring employee loyalty, as well as for attracting new talent. Our review suggests that organisations with a higher level of preparedness for modern work are implementing a framework of policies around their people. These are clear and unambiguous, giving employees more choice and control over how they work, and balanced in providing opportunities for both in-person and remote collaboration. There is a focus on building social and cultural capital in the workplace, as well as supporting health and mental well-being. Leadership in these organisations is compassionate, non-hierarchal and flexible, while maintaining an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The changing cultural attitudes about work pose new questions for the future of the office environment and the experience it provides. More companies now accept that a superior office design is a better bet for encouraging people back than mandates. As a result, there is extensive activity to repurpose, reposition and reimagine estate assets. To accommodate hybrid working, organisations need to move away from standard office designs that prioritise corporate function towards more varied, diverse and human-centric workspaces. Organisations that are preparing for this new reality are designing workplaces that are sustainable – a crucial differentiator for younger workers – and healthy, supporting sensory well-being through features such as lighting, air quality and acoustics. These workplaces provide settings for collaboration, but also spaces for individual work when employees need to focus. These features provide a sense of place, which helps to create memorable interactions when people come to the office. The third and final dimension of the new world of work is digital transformation. Technology underpins the cultural and place-based factors that enable modern work practices. As modern work approaches its tipping point, organisations are looking to proactively scale up a streamlined technology experience to optimise team performance.
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