Do We Still Need The Office?

In the year since the first major lockdowns were implemented across the world, the pandemic has created a seismic shift in working and living patterns. The largest work-from-home experiment has largely concluded that there is indeed an appetite for greater flexibility and new hybrid ways of working – at least where employees are concerned.

- Ong Xiang Hong

But many employers are still looking at the office as a crucial space for productivity. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a letter to shareholders that the bank will “envision a model that will find many employees working in a location full time,” while tweaking existing real estate to a more open seating arrangement. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon went further, famously saying that working from home is an “aberration”, and that it was “not ideal for us and it’s not a new normal.”

Solomon’s quote is in contrast to many other CEOs, especially tech sector leaders. Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke perhaps best emphasized this trend in a tweet announcing the option of permanent remote work for his company. He proclaimed, that “most will permanently work remotely,” and that “office centricity is over.”

But who is right, and who is wrong? Does office space still matter post-pandemic? How will it change?

HOME OR OFFICE?

Now that vaccines are becoming available and social distancing restrictions are being relaxed in some regions, leaders need to decide whether to bring employees back to the office, remain at home, or use this as an opportunity to adopt a new, possibly more beneficial workplace model.

It’s clear that leaders and employees alike are now used to working from home. There are certain expectations now from employees who see flexible working as the ‘new normal. This is especially pertinent for employees with families and working mothers who want to spend hybrid time at home.