Major work-from-home headache in South Africa

There is a large mismatch between what employees say and do regarding office hours and the “vibes” they want to experience while at work.

“There is a growing gap between what employees say and do when it comes to office working,” says Linda Trim, Director at Giant Leap, one of SA’s largest workplace design consultancies. 

“In the four years since the start of the global pandemic, work and workers have permanently changed in all ways,” said Linda Trim, Director at Giant Leap.

“Employers quickly transitioned data to the cloud to enable remote work, teams leveraged technology to collaborate virtually across geographies and time zones, and individuals learned how, where, and when they work best — both solo and with each other. 

“Now, we are starting to see new work patterns emerge and a clear disconnect between what employees say and do when it comes to office work and office ‘vibes’.” 

According to a study of 4,000 office workers across nine countries and 10 industries from Gensler, employees said that they ideally need the office for two-thirds of a normal work week, but they only come in half of the time.

“This suggests that employers need to rethink the office to make it more attractive to employees and to better accommodate their diverse needs and behaviours,” Trim said. 

“There is a new awareness that employees are unique individuals at various life stages who may have diverse living conditions, family arrangements, and commuting patterns,” said Trim.

“As we reimagine a new workplace for the future, it’s time to design people-centric environments that are flexible and tailored to workers’ diverse needs and behaviours.”

The study also found that Gen Z and millennials have the largest gap in what they say and do, saying that they need the office 64 and 65% of a typical week but only coming in 43% and 44% of the time, respectively

Workers living with children under the age of 12 said that they preferred full and extended days in the office beyond the typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Office living with children above the age of 12 have said that they preferred partial days.

Workers with 45-minute or longer commutes come to the office the least, but the majority stay for full or extended days. Office workers who live less than 15 minutes from the office were reported as working at the office 63% of the time but said they wanted slightly less time at the office.

There was also a mismatch in “vibes,” with some wanting quieter offices with fewer people, whilst others wanted the space to be “buzzy” with lots of people.

Giant Leap said that the designs for future workplaces should thus include the following:

• “The need for more flexible and tailored office spaces that can accommodate the diverse needs of workers.

• A move away from universal planning, where all work settings have a uniform layout.

• A greater recognition of the unique needs of individual workers, including their life stage, living arrangements, and commuting patterns.”

“Workplaces must evolve and be ever-changing, consistent with the dynamic nature of work and the changing needs of the people who use them,” said Trim. 

“This will create not only a more inclusive work environment but one that recognises and celebrates that we are unique individuals working collectively to learn, grow, and do great work together.”

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