Forbes: what will the post-pandemic office look like?

As businesses eagerly look forward to a semblance of post-pandemic normalcy, uncertainty continues to cast a shadow. While vaccine rollout is providing some optimism, there is still so much unknown about how, when and where the world will return to the workplace.

For the meanwhile, remote work remains the new normal. The good news is that according to Randstad Sourceright’s COVID-19 Surveillance Report, 78% of companies found that remote work was more effective than they thought it would be.

Many employees, however, are struggling with the lack of boundaries between work and home. Being unable to separate the two has led 70% of workers to report that this past year has been the most stressful time of their entire careers. Randstad’s 2020 Workmonitor survey validates that data, finding that only 20% of workers want to continue working from home all the time. Many would prefer a hybrid work schedule that allows them to split time between working from home and from the office.

“Given the increased importance of an agile organization, both to productivity and talent attraction and retention, businesses should consider flexible schedules that both meet the needs of the organization while catering to employees’ individual circumstances,” writes Rebecca Henderson, Randstad executive board member and CEO of Randstad Global Businesses.

“We expect a new form of modified, hybrid-work model once vaccines are more widely available. Businesses should be planning now for how they will address the safety concerns, vaccine protocols, scheduling plans and possible incentives to both encourage and welcome employees back to the workplace this year.”

Read Henderson’s full article in Forbes for additional insights on how companies should prepare for employees to return to work. You can also visit Randstad Sourceright’s talent continuity & COVID-19 Insights stream to learn how to build your talent and workforce strategies to drive recovery and growth post-pandemic.