It is a well known fact that companies must evolve with the times in order to grow and be successful. Now, more than ever, companies need to be flexible but this does not mean that you have to sacrifice your company values. Over the past decade there has been a significant shift in how we work alongside an increased knowledge and understanding in the needs to employees both physically and emotionally.
The Impact Of Remote Working On Employee Mental Wellbeing
In a recent study of 133 companies across the UK only 22% of employees were stated to have not found no issues with working from home and remote working with over 56% raising concerns over the lack of communication and social interaction. This has, in turn, filtered through to employers finding themselves under great pressure to create an office structure which offers the flexibility staff need and want while supporting staff wellbeing and addressing issues with staff productivity and team bonding.
Understanding The Term ‘Remote Working’
It is important to note that there is confusion around what the term remote working means and stands for. For example some associate remote working with specifically working from home while others can use this term for using coworking or satellite offices instead of working in the main office. In this article we are going to look at remote working in reference to using coworking and office sharing platforms instead of all staff using a main office.
Building Remote Working Staff Morale
Some of the easiest ways for an employer to support a remote employee's mental wellbeing would be by actively looking at the communication platforms between employers and employees. This can be through simple measures such as arranging daily staff or group/project meetings or having set ‘coffee break’ sessions over a platform like Zoom where staff are encouraged to discuss anything other than work. In our office, we used to religiously have a coffee break while the Popmater quiz was on the radio and try to guess the answers. Now with many of our staff working from home due to Covid these built in breaks and ‘social’ sessions have fallen by the wayside. This lack of purely social based interaction between employees is a common situation many companies are seeing with more staff working from home or remotely. With that said, having relaxed social ‘messenger’ platforms, such as Slack, opens up the opportunity for group, whole office and individual conversations with easy ways to draw the attention of specific people.
What Does Hybrid and Coworking Mean For Businesses?
Put simply, hybrid working is where staff may only work in a main office part of the time, splitting their days between a variety of options including home, coworking office, satellite office and main offices. In short hybrid working typically means some form of coworking.
There are 3 main reasons why hybrid working and coworking offices are great news for business. These are:
- More flexibility and easier access to highly skilled staff
- Reduction in overheads
- Greater opportunities for networking
In the rest of this article we are going to look at the ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ any business owner should know when they are considering hybrid and coworking and their businesses' future.
Why Coworking and Hybrid Offices Allow More Flexibility And Easier Access To Highly Skilled Staff?
Good employees are at the center of any good company; with committed and highly skilled staff always being well sought after. This is where remote and hybrid working really come into their own. Hybrid and remote working allows companies to reach and employ staff who may previously not have been available due to location related restrictions or personal circumstances, such as disability.
How Can Hybrid and Coworking Allow Businesses To Reduce Their Overheads?
As remote, hybrid and coworking rockets in popularity many businesses are finding that they don't necessarily need all of their office space. This can be due to a range of reasons including:
- The ability for staff to share desks (for example where each member of staff may only work 2 days a week)
- Staff choosing to work from home full or part time
- Staff accessing coworking spaces
- The growth of satellite offices
Naturally any business owner must scrutinise their overhead costs for their company to be profitable. As a result any company not looking to capitalise on some of these new hybrid ways of working may find themselves left behind. As we highlighted above; one way to reduce overhead costs is by having staff who only work in the office part of the time to share desk space; although this is not a new concept to any business owner! Alternatively some businesses may be able to downsize by allowing staff to work remotely through the utilisation of coworking spaces or by using office sharing to set up satellite offices. By harnessing these new opportunities in working environments, companies can find it easier to attract and retain staff while opening up more opportunities for geographical expansion and a wider client base. Finally, some companies may choose to rent out spare desk space in their office instead of downsizing; which can also provide a welcome additional income in these harder times. But sharing your office space can also off a business so much more as we will discuss in our next point.
What Networking Opportunities Can Coworking and Office Sharing Offer Businesses
As we highlighted above, coworking and office sharing can benefit all parties involved but this is not limited to just financial benefits. By carefully choosing which companies to share office space with, you can reduce your overheads, expand your company's reach and attract new highly skilled staff while opening up valuable networking opportunities. These networking opportunities can take a variety of formats depending on the people/businesses involved. Some of these networking opportunities include:
- Having other similarly skilled people to ‘spitball’ ideas with (a great advantage for freelancers and smaller companies or creative teams)
- Having easy access to businesses in related industries therefore making skill sharing and outsourcing opportunities more feasible.
- The ability to ‘joint’ tender (fantastic for smaller companies, consultants and freelancers)
In summary, the opportunities and benefits that sharing an office can offer are clear and far outweigh any perceived negatives you may have. So what are you waiting for? Whether you are a company with spare office space to share or a business, consultant or freelancer who is looking to move into an office with other businesses, transform your businesses and how you perceive your office space today!
