Workplace Experience - Function or Feature?

Employees recognise the advantages of going back to the office, even if studies show that one-third of workers still desire to work remotely full-time. Many people who want to improve their inventiveness, boost learning, reestablish social capital, and reconnect with coworkers choose shared workplaces as their preferred location. However, individuals like to be in environments that inspire them.

Many people who wish to continue working from home have found that they can be successful there. Recent studies have revealed that during the early stages of the epidemic, when many people were working remotely, productivity stayed the same or even rose. However, there were lulls in attendance over time, and many people felt alienated from their coworkers and the organisation. It's crucial to remember that productivity isn't the only thing to take into account. Many business leaders were concerned about the potential negative effects of remote work, such as the loss of social capital and company culture, the siloing, isolating, and disconnecting of groups, the impact of proximity bias on diversity initiatives, the lack of professional development, the decline in the quality of the work being done, and the decreased mental health of the workforce.

After the epidemic, GenZs regard the workplace as more valuable, and many want to profit from being in a shared area. This has proven to be difficult since many more seasoned professionals with established networks and well-defined tasks do not feel the need to participate in common places. Their absence sends the message to the younger workers that "do as I say, not as I do." This not only reinforces silos, but it also negates the point of having those developing professionals in the workplace. It's critical that we all recall how we felt when we first arrived.

Most organisations have adopted a hybrid strategy because to the fight for talent and the worry that many would leave if forced to return to the office full-time. In fact, 70% of businesses plan to use a hybrid strategy in the future. However, just because employees may (or want to) work remotely does not imply they should. This raises the question of whether hybrid is driven by function or a feature used by businesses to retain their personnel. Hybrid can be quite effective if it functionally corresponds with a team's primary work habits and mobility levels. If properly implemented. However, if the feature or perk does not correspond with how people genuinely need to work or is badly designed, hybrid may be the worst of both worlds.?

We need to design rooms that are both appealing and functional. The importance of job experience has never been greater. And, if we are to reap the benefits of working together again, we must rebuild the workplace and, perhaps more crucially, the way we work. It is critical that we reconsider our work processes and what we do on days when we are in the office vs days when we are working remotely. Fundamentally, hybrid is an operational approach rather than a workplace solution.

Space is important, but it is not the sole or even the most important factor. However, providing the appropriate type of space is a critical component of any effective work arrangement. Your physical workplace must provide friendly, inclusive environments where employees may have experiences they cannot have at home. People want to interact with coworkers in person and feel like they belong. While many are hoping to take advantage of numerous luxuries and services that they haven't had access to since the outbreak, the primary appeal is people.

The epidemic has forced us to reconsider something we've taken for granted for decades: the way we operate. We have an opportunity to reconsider how we work, where we work, and what those spaces may and should be. Attracting and keeping talent increasingly depends on an employer's ability to accommodate the different demands of their employees while enabling their teams to execute their best work, no matter where they are. Organisations must reinvent the workplace as a destination that improves how people work and allows employees to reconnect, restore social capital, and profit from being together in order to be successful in the future. Access to individuals is critical.

Conclusion ( But feel free to start a discussion).

The workplace experience is both a function and a feature. A function is a set of activities that an organisation must perform in order to achieve its goals. The workplace experience includes activities such as hiring and developing employees, creating a positive environment, and maintaining good communication between management and staff. These activities are necessary for the success of an organisation and are considered to be functions.

A feature, on the other hand, is an additional benefit or value that an organisation offers its employees. Features of the workplace experience include things like flexible working hours, employee engagement activities, and recognition programs. These features are designed to make the workplace more enjoyable and rewarding, and they are not essential to the success of an organisation.

The workplace experience is both a function and a feature because it involves activities that are essential to the success of the organisation, as well as those that are not essential but offer additional benefits. Organisations should strive to create a workplace experience that meets both of these criteria. By providing a combination of necessary functions and enjoyable features, organisations can ensure that their employees are productive, engaged, and satisfied.