Flex Offices ARE here to stay.
The trouble with living in unprecedented times is that there is, by definition, no established way of doing things. We’re lost at sea with a busted compass, just trying to navigate the waters as best we can to keep this ship from sinking.
In the past two years, we’ve had to establish a new normal. For many of us, that meant transitioning to work from home and all the ups and downs that came with it. A welcome change for some. For others, a new set of complications and burdens.
What do people want?
A Nonfiction Report commissioned by Happify Health took a look at the numbers. Turns out, 75% of about the 61 million people set to return to the office, are actually pretty happy about it. It seems that the majority of people, when asked, would prefer to go back to the office. There’s something to be said about the separation of work and home that helps people compartmentalize. For some, work from home meant work all the time. And that in and of itself was a problem.
But what about everyone else?
31% of returning American office workers have a different story to tell. Many admit the office migration has already had a negative impact on their mental health. They’re feeling more anxious, stressed, irritable, and distracted. More than 1 in 4 say they’d even go as far as giving up a 20% raise if it meant they could work remotely.
Workers listed “helicopter-parent management” among the top reasons why they are dreading the return to the office. Working from home for the past 2 years has created an independent workforce. Post pandemic, 1 in 4 workers say they’ve become more sensitive to their superiors’ attempts at controlling their lives. It is entirely unnecessary, and more and more, entirely unwelcome.
What can companies do?
People just want to be treated like adults.
59% of workers surveyed said their mental health would improve if their employer gave them complete trust and freedom to do their job. More than half of workers are willing and excited about coming back to the office, but for the ones that aren’t: it could be a deal breaker.
So where does that leave us?
Like so many things in life, we don’t believe it’s a one way or another answer. But more like, all of the above. Co-working spaces are nothing new. We all know about the shared office model. Flex offices offer the ability to have a space available for workers should they need it, without the expectation of coerced participation.
Here at Ampersand, we believe in flexibility and personal choice. That’s why we offer comprehensive membership plans to our co-working offices and studios. We strive to create beautiful, engaging, collaborative spaces, away from the crippling surveillance of traditional office structures. Somewhere everyone can thrive.
