ARE MEETINGS THE ONLY WAY FOR HYBRID WORKERS TO KEEP IN TOUCH?

During the pandemic Working From Home was the norm. It saw the rise of video conferencing tools like Zoom and Teams, as well as investments in communication tools like webcams and specialised speakers with dedicated support for video calls.

- Ken Wong

But now as we wind down from the pandemic, we are faced with a Return to Office situation. In fact, according to a new IDC Future of Work report, The Future of Workspace: Bringing Employees Back into the Office, around 25% of organisations across Asia/ Pacific are already redesigning their offices, with 70% of them intending to do so in the next 18-months.

As for the key drivers for an office redesign, improving the employee experience, enhancing operational efficiency, accommodating hybrid work, developing the company culture, and saving costs have been touted.

Samir Sayed Managing Director for ASEAN, Korea, Emerging Markets & Pakistan for Hybrid Work Solutions at HP

But is an office redesign enough impetus to get staff to return? We spoke to Samir Sayed, Managing Director for ASEAN, Korea, Emerging Markets & Pakistan for Hybrid Work Solutions at HP to find out how management needs to persuade staff that RTO is good for them and the business, and if meetings are the only way for hybrid workers to keep in touch with officebound colleagues.

We've had 3 years to prove hybrid work was possible. Why this rush to get workers back into the office? What happened to the support for hybrid work?

SAMIR We've no doubt that hybrid work is still here to stay, despite some companies trying to get part of their workforce back to the office. This push to RTO is proving to be a challenge, as workers themselves are resisting to return - Accenture research indicates that a large majority of workers (83 percent) prefer a hybrid work model. At the same time, employers are also showing themselves to be unwilling to risk the resignations that are inevitable following a hard mandate to return.