Changing Workplace Habits in the Aftermath of 2020

“We all know that work will never be the same, even if we don’t yet know all the ways in which it will be different,” said Slack co-founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield in a BBC article about changing workplace habits.

COVID-19 and the resulting lockdown and restrictions in 2020 have reshaped what work looks like. The number of people working from home suddenly doubled and everyone learned new cultural touch points in the struggle to adapt, from Zoom etiquette to accepting the steady interruption of children and pets. 

How Work Is Changing

“The future of work will be distributed,” said Erica Brescia, chief operating officer of GitHub. “We’re going to see a big shift from office by default to remote by default.” 

According to a report from Slack about working from home, only 3% reported no benefit. The most common improvements included no commuting, cost savings, and better work-life balance.

But What About…?

Not everyone agrees. While many people enjoy the lack of commute and the flexibility of working at home, there are potential downsides. Robin Dunbar, emeritus professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, argues that working remotely is overhyped.

“The workplace is a social environment and business in any form is a social phenomenon,” Dunar said. She also points to a loneliness epidemic, especially among 20-somethings, that workplace connections can help resolve.  

“If I ask my friends if they would like to go back full-time to working from one office, five days a week—most people say no,” said Jeanna Lundberg co-founder and CEO of Respaces. “But they also complain that the home office is cramped, boring, and lonely after a while.”

Both And

“A hybrid model is likely to emerge that will try to balance the efficiencies gained by remote work with the benefits of social interactions and the creativity and innovation generated by working in person with others,” said Elisabeth Reynolds executive director of the Task Force on the Work of the Future at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

One lesson from the pandemic is the value of flexibility. In many industries, the pandemic proved that change can be positive and has given companies the courage to try something different. 

“As companies dare to explore options beyond the ‘one-size-fits-all’ office solution, we can start sharing spaces in a new way,” said Lundberg. “Imagine if you could have access to inspiring new locations adapted for different tasks and projects—wherever you are.”

That could be shared office space here at Evolve Workplace. There’s plenty of room to be socially distanced, plus the types of flexible spaces that can accommodate groups and meetings as well as individuals looking for a more productive workspace than the kitchen table in the center of a noisy house. Come take a tour and see for yourself. Many of our clients live nearby, so there’s still the benefit of a shorter commute. 

Work Matters

Perhaps the most vital impact of our changing work habits in 2020 is realizing that we actually need work.

“People have become aware of the—call it ‘social’ or ‘intrinsic’—value of work in our lives,” says Reetika Khera, an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology. “For many, those much loathed and dreaded three words—‘going to work’—is something they crave.”

For many folks—primarily those who haven’t lost jobs and aren’t feeling an economic crunch right now—work gives meaning and we miss it. Khera notes that we’re often conditioned to connect work and money. The two certainly go hand in hand, but perhaps this pandemic year can teach us the inherent meaning and value we also find in a good day’s work.