During the pandemic, employees at companies around the Nordics had the opportunity to experience the benefits of working from home. They managed to retain productivity, maintain a relatively close dialog with managers and colleagues, and reduce their travelling time to and from the office. At the same time, many missed the social aspects of working in the office, and felt that it was more effective to carry out some tasks in the office, particularly relating to innovation and development. The working environment was also felt to be better in the office compared to at home, and it is easier to build and maintain a strong corporate culture when meeting in person. The staff surveyed expect to work from home 1.5 days per week, compared to an average of half a day per week before the pandemic.
Fewer workstations but more open and flexible workspaces
The staff surveyed believe that open and flexible workspaces that encourage creativity and collaboration, as well as more integration of physical and digital aspects of life, will be needed in future. Workplaces need to be adapted to the new technology, but also contribute to inspiration and wellbeing through wellness areas and cafés, for example. The office space may shrink slightly (by 10-20%) as fewer individual workstations will be needed.
“The survey confirms what we believe and know, namely that the office will continue to play an important role after the pandemic. But staff needs have changed, and employers need to meet these needs to remain attractive as an employer. For many of our customers, this is a critical question. Most staff feel that working from home is effective, but that there are advantages with shared physical workspaces for creativity and innovation, and several studies confirm this. The hybrid office is here to stay but needs to be adapted.” Erik Sörnäs, Vice President Sales & Marketing Excellence at Coor
Facts about the survey
Over 500 Nordic companies were surveyed during spring 2021 about how they expect to work in future, and how they believe that offices will change. The answers were analyzed by Coor Advisory, Coor’s operations focused on workplace strategy, which develops the workplaces of tomorrow alongside our customers.
