The ups and downs of returning to the office

I will be honest – returning to work in the office was harder than I thought it would be. Because initially it didn’t feel like the JLL workplace experience I know so well. 

I was looking forward to being back at our regional HQ in Singapore’s Paya Lebar Quarter now that some restrictions have been lifted. Singapore has done an excellent job of keeping community cases low during Phase 2, with more of the economy reopening and activities resuming.

When it was announced that employees could return to the office for half of their working hours from 28 September, I was ready and raring to go back after working from home for six months, especially to see colleagues I hadn’t met face-to-face for a long time.

The experience was slightly disorienting. In the first week, the office didn’t have its usual buzz and vibrancy, given that half our employees were at home.

Speaking to colleagues, I discovered that they shared my enthusiasm for being back; at the same time they found it challenging to settle in immediately and interact with colleagues with masks on.

However, by the end of the first week, signs of our usual laughter and camaraderie were returning. And after a second week of working from the office, I notice the place feels much more recognisable as our home away from home, despite it being at half capacity.

It’s also reassuring to hear from colleagues and friends based in cities like Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong – where office attendance is close to pre-pandemic levels – that the buzz will return soon.

That’s why I remain optimistic that we will soon adapt. In much the same way we quickly adjusted to working from home, we will be able to shift our mindsets and navigate nimbly around life in the office once more.

The opportunity to collaborate and connect in person is something many of us have missed and now relish the chance to do again. For example, I took part in an interactive design thinking workshop, which would have been impossible via conference call!

Warm welcome

Of course, this can only happen after we tackle the most fundamental part of returning to the office – prioritising the health and safety of employees.

At JLL, our HR, facilities team and community managers have done a brilliant job ensuring the environment is safe, comfortable and welcoming. We saw re-entry as a unique opportunity to reengage our employees in their workplace experience while thinking of ways we could reassure and motivate returning colleagues.

For instance, we leveraged digital tools such as using the ‘Find A Desk’ function in our JLL app for people to locate an empty desk before they come into office to enable safer, more productive ways of working. Our meeting rooms in Paya Lebar Quarter were upgraded and they can now be activated through voice commands to provide seamless, touchless access. Some of these ideas were also discussed in JLL's latest paper on The Future of Workplace Design.

It is clear that the ability to adapt to this new way of working will be an essential element in building a more dynamic and resilient workforce, and it goes hand-in-hand with ensuring the well-being of employees.

These will be key to making our offices thrive again.