Gurugram: The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a monumental shift in the traditional office work culture, compelling organizations worldwide to adopt remote work practices that led to a hybrid work model which emerged as a transformative solution. As the combination of remote work and in-office presence has become a new normal, the extensive survey of CBRE, India’s leading real estate consulting firm, has some startling findings that returning to office spaces is gaining traction.
The survey results showed that the productivity of employees working from the office was much higher in comparison to remote employees. Eighty percent of employees working from the office are of the view that their personal productivity has increased, the report said.
On the other hand, the remote employees confirmed higher stress levels and reduced job satisfaction. Seventy percent of the remote employees said that they are facing stress and added that working pressure has also increased.
The report further said that 68 percent of employees working from the office expressed their job satisfaction level increased against 66 percent working from home.
The CBRE report also shed light on the feeling of connectedness among employees. The survey revealed that those working from their respective offices felt more connected with their colleagues, teams and other teams as well.
Eighty-three percent of office occupiers stated that their relationship with colleagues improved vis-a-vis 69 percent of WFH employees.
Employees working from home displayed lots of dissatisfaction and wanted to switch more often. The report said that 64 percent of WFH employees tend to switch as they feel dissatisfied in comparison to 52 percent working in their office.
Vatika Business Centre CEO Vineet Taing said, “Working from an office provides a dedicated and professional workspace, free from the distractions and comfort-related challenges that can arise at home. In-person interactions in an office setting facilitate real-time communication, quick decision-making, and spontaneous brainstorming sessions. This can lead to more efficient problem-solving and reduced delays. Though confidentiality and business privacy are something which needs to be strongly debated while working from home and office since they can be compromised to a large extent while employees are working from home.”
The physical separation between work and home environments that the office provides can help employees establish clear boundaries, leading to better focus during work hours and enhanced relaxation during personal time, he added.
Talking about this, Praveen Dubey, Founder- Webclixs said, “It is true that since last year, most of the employees have started coming to the office, but I believe that especially in the IT sector, there is an increase in the number of people working from home. This model is still the best. Because it has many benefits. If we talk about productivity, then working from home has increased productivity in the IT sector. It has worked like magic for startups. There is a need to make every possible arrangement for physical offices, which increases the expenses whereas, WFH model saves travel time of the employees, provides freedom from traffic, and does not have to face mental problems. If we talk about hiring, skilled people are easily available to work from home because there is no such issue of location preference, travel time etc whereas the scope for working from an office becomes smaller and sometimes you have to compromise with quality of employees also. Despite some challenges, there are many reasons that make work from home more productive. For example, they have more flexibility and freedom when it comes to work schedules, which can help them manage their time better. Additionally, they are often able to create a work environment tailored to their needs, which can help increase productivity.”
Sima Rao, Partner, Intygrat Law said, “Absolutely right while WFH may have its benefits , it certainly lacks in human connect in its true sense and therefore also is devoid of emotional connect. Discontent is more WFH employees as compared to regular office going . Infact , fun factor at work is missing and social interaction is very limited as it is only very occasional . Employees feel isolated and lonely. What we have realised is mere emoluments may not be sufficient drivers for job satisfaction, loyalty and retention.”
