Introduction
According to Mr. Harsh Binani, co-founder of Smartworks, flexible workplaces offers appealing, cost-saving alternatives for organisations trying to reduce overheads. Flexible workspaces also provide employees with secure workstations near their homes, saving them time and energy.
Lockdowns of varied intensity had a negatively proportionate effect on workspaces and workplaces throughout the world. Recently there have been several debates regarding the merits and drawbacks of work-from-home (WFH). Working from home was a huge shift from the routine travel to the corporate office, hubs, and spoke arrangements. Business experts, both major and small, are taking stock of the situation and contemplating what must be done next.
All concerns regarding the demand for space centre around the necessity for flexibility and convenient usage. This is where flexible workplaces will come in handy, as they can provide the necessary flexibility and operational dependability. Combining a sense of workspace freedom and agility, these customised spaces assist organisations in navigating business with ease. Highlighted below are a few factors as to why they would be beneficial in the future.
Also Read: Winning Stroke: Interview With Harsh Binani, Co-Founder, Smartworks
Importance of Flexible Workspaces in the Present Corporate Scenario
1) Flexibility
The requirement to broaden or shrink the business landscape is influenced heavily by an organisation’s internal policy and future strategy. However, doing so at the current office set-up and location may be challenging. A corporation may opt to reorganise and rotate its staff in shifts, but implementation can be challenging during a lock-in.
Flexible workplaces or managed office spaces may readily assist in this area. These workspaces are designed to compress or extend based on your business need. Company requirements necessitate a good bit of customisation, which may be easily accomplished in these agile workspace environments.
If you are a small business, this may be even more valuable since you can participate in a hybrid programme. You can utilise a workstation or meeting room rather than binding yourself down to a regular office location.
2) Saving money
Cost is on everyone’s mind these days, with with an unstable economy. Businesses are searching for methods to cut expenses and boost cash flow in the coming months. Monthly office space rent and operations expenditures might add to your financial liabilities. Companies can now opt to move out or grow much more easily since managed office spaces pay capital expenditures.
Previously, before the flexible workspace boom, this alternative did not exist. Aside from these benefits, flexible workspaces provide an all-inclusive monthly leasing package that covers all operating costs. With daily operations and expenditures taken care of, businesses can concentrate solely on their long-term viability.
3) Ease of use in the operation
Managed office spaces have developed SOPs and amended them to meet Covid-19 prevention and safety standards. Frequent sanitisation, decontamination of commonly touched areas, and thorough cleaning of indoor spaces are conducted for a healthy environment.
Acrylic barriers, social distance in common areas, alternative seating in conference rooms, etc., are enforced as preventive measures. Strict access and departure routines are also maintained to contribute to a safe work environment for everybody. Flexible workplaces, akin to a hotel, can pivot and cope with this strategically for its travelling visitors. Individual organisations will discover that reconfiguring their existing design to accommodate the new status quo is time-consuming and expensive.
4) WFH flaws occur all the time.
The flaws in work-from-home are starting to appear. Inadequate space for work and family, blurring boundaries between personal and professional space is worrisome. These are indicators of decreased productivity and weariness among employees. WFH is further complicated by the drawbacks of data security and slow internet connectivity.
While the downsides are a cause for concern, WFH does provide employees with flexibility. The present work-from-home scenario will undoubtedly have a long-term influence on corporate HR policy. Companies may choose for a hub-and-spoke arrangement, in which they no longer require a central office location. They may decide to opt for scattered office space around the city.
Companies that use flexible workplaces can provide staff with options of working from a smaller but safer location. The office space can serve as a focused commercial space located near the residence of employees.
Conclusion
Over the past two decades, the notion of a workplace has altered substantially. The office has evolved from the all-encompassing nine to five administrator to one that allows flexibility, advancement, and much more. Today’s employers and employees are both more advanced than their forebears. With altering job expectations, employees also expect more out of its physical embodiment, in the form of flexible office space.
Companies will seek alternatives that give flexibility, affordability, and simplicity of operation in a post-Covid environment. Flexible workplaces can assist both major corporations, and start-ups build hybrid workspace concepts and easily adaptable working arrangements.
The chasm between employees’ needs for a flexible work environment and organisations imposing return-to-work has reached a tipping point. This phenomenon is heralded as ‘The Great Resignation Season.’
Entrepreneurs like Mr. Harsh Binani predict that if this trend continues, it will increase the demand for workspace flexibility globally. This community-driven model has drawn occupants of all sizes to managed office spaces. At this moment, corporations are concentrating on employee expectations, as they have learned what work-life balance truly entails.