2024: the year of the return to the office?

What's happening on the other side of the Atlantic?

‍

You couldn't miss it: for several months now in the USA, major companies such as Amazon, Google and Zoom (the ultimate!) have been calling on their employees to return to the office. But what do they really mean by "coming back to the office"?

What's important to understand is that these companies aren't asking their employees to come back Monday to Friday, from 9am to 6pm, as before. Nor are they calling telecommuting into question. What they are stopping is full remote working. In other words, the possibility for employees to work 100% remotely, without ever setting foot in the office. In short, they are returning to a more balanced hybrid model.

‍

What this trend also reveals is a turning point in the phase of experimentation with new ways of working from the covid. We could describe the last 4 years as a phase of - rather intense - test & learn on best practices in hybrid working policies. It's now time to draw the major lessons and renew our practices towards greater balance.

‍

At a crossroads: between the rapid evolution of teleworking and the challenges of hybridization

‍

In 2019, only 7.2% of French employees teleworked. By 2022, this had risen to 22%(1). In three years, telecommuting has gained 15 points. Vertiginous, isn't it?

‍

The democratization of telecommuting has turned the company upside down: in its real estate strategy, in its management methods, in the commitment of its employees, in its corporate culture... The cards have been reshuffled. 

However, this trend towards telecommuting appears to be slowing, as real estate decision-makers report that office occupancy has increased since September 2022(2).

‍

In short, stop the suspense: the office is not dead. Telecommuting is not dead.
It's the hybridization of work that appears to be the real trend for 2024.

So rather than a firm and definitive return to the office, we believe in a more in-depth reflection on the organization of hybrid work.

‍

Juggling with hybrids: a tight corner for companies and employees?

View of the company window 👀

‍

We imagine that your company would like its employees to maintain or intensify their face-to-face activities this year. And we understand. For an organization, having employees in the office can be vital: creating bonds of trust, optimizing performance and innovation, sharing formal and informal information... the advantages are numerous. And all of this in a way that optimizes square footage, while preserving and satisfying individual and collective needs.

Collaborator window view 👀

‍

But on the other hand, your employees are not prepared to give up the freedom, flexibility and autonomy they have acquired in recent years. This is one of the key lessons of the pandemic: workers' imaginations of what their daily working lives should be like have been transformed. 

‍

Let's face it, drastically reducing commuting times or buying a much cheaper house in Normandy to live in, while keeping your job, does have its advantages.

Whereas 60% of French workers described work as "very important" in 1990, only 24% felt the same way in 2022(3).

‍

Now, more than ever, we're going to have to put some water in our wine to move forward together. On both sides. Let's not forget that one of the central missions of workplace strategy is to federate (not divide).

‍

Listening and compromise

‍

So we'd say to you, as in a couple faced with a thorny issue: listen to each stakeholder and co-mmu-ni-quez!

We don't want the trend towards hybrid working, which is returning to the office on a massive scale, to sound like a punishment or a lack of confidence. We'll have none of that! 

‍

Let's take a look at some of the avenues to be explored for 2024.

‍

Telework-presence harmonization: 3 keys to making your organization run smoothly

‍

1. Focus on use: the right space for the right activity

‍

To make it work, hybrid work organization requires careful consideration of the specific needs and uses of each profession. Understanding the nuances and requirements of your industry is crucial to creating a suitable and optimal working environment. The golden rule: one type of space = one specific use. It's time foractivity-based working.

‍‍

2. Data to intelligently manage your internal and external workspaces

For effective management of hybrid working, the collection and use of relevant data is essential. This involves in-depth analysis of the use of different spaces inside and outside the office, over the medium and long term.

‍

The aim? Calculate occupancy rates for each type of space, deduce the square meters needed, improve layouts and understand team dynamics to serve them best. At Worklib, we excel in this approach.

‍

‍‍

3. But you're not there, where are you? Not here 🎶

‍

Oops, now it's in your head!

As you can imagine, employees need to know who and what they're travelling for. The hybridization of work modes is redefining the role of the office.

‍

Faced with the persistent question "Why come to the office?", the answer lies largely in your strategy for animating spaces: planning events, knowing who will be there, rethinking the benefits of moving around... This is what employees expect from you to reintegrate the office into their daily lives.

‍

So, you've cracked the mystery of how work will be organized in 2024. So, will you be in the office tomorrow? 🙃

‍

‍

<hr>

‍

<font size="-1">Nos sources</font>

‍

<font size="-1">(1) https://www.inrs.fr/risques/teletravail/quelques-chiffres.html </font>

‍

<font size="-1">(2) Le travail déraciné, Une enquête de The Boson Project, octobre 2023 (p.26) </font>

‍

<font size="-1">(3) Fondation Jean Jaurès, Plus rien ne sera jamais comme avant dans sa vie au travail, 2022 </font>