The COVID-19 pandemic changed numerous aspects of how we live and work and led to a massive remote work experiment. A JLL survey of more than 3,000 employees working in multi-national companies across the globe claims that 71 percent of people have worked from home during the pandemic and that 58 percent missed the office and 44 percent missed human interaction and socializing with colleagues. The largest cohort who missed the office was the under 35s, or millennials, with 65 percent citing poor home-office environments and missing support from their managers.
“We have been tracking changes in the workplace for many years and the pandemic has accelerated the trends we predicted 10 years ago about a new purpose for the office,” said Marie Puybaraud, Global Head of Corporate Solutions Research for JLL. “We believe that remote working will become an inherent part of the future, but it will have to be blended with work in the office.”
“Our global survey showed that while many settled into working from home, key components of office life were missing, impacting productivity: socialization, face to face collaboration, and informal communications,” said Flore Pradère, Director of Research for JLL. “The office is essential to boost the feeling of belonging to a community.”
The JLL survey also claims that only 48 percent of respondents felt more productive at home and across the globe, views differed on why they missed the office. In the Americas, respondents missed daily routine, in EMEA, they missed human interaction and in Asia, they missed a professional environment that enabled focus. Conversely, views also differed about the advantages of working from home. In the Americas, they relished not having the daily commute, in EMEA, they enjoyed having access to outdoor space and a peaceful environment and in Asia, they valued greater work-life-balance.
“We believe the office will continue to play a significant role post-pandemic in the success of businesses,” said Mark Caskey, CEO of Corporate Solutions, EMEA. “In the future, its purpose will shift from the place to do work to the place to collaborate, create, and build relationships with colleagues, clients, and co-workers. The workplace will evolve to serve as a catalyst for employee experience, engagement, and fulfillment and will embrace the future culture of companies”