Publication
This year’s Africa Energy Forum presents a unique opportunity for African collaboration
In the rural village of Gwanda, Zimbabwe, a mother walks several kilometres each day to find firewood so she can cook for her children.
Author:
Global | Publication | May 2022
This is the 16th paper in our Transforming Workplace series. In our previous paper, we discussed how to make ‘work from anywhere’ work better.
We now examine whether the day of the office, as we know it, has ended. The key question is: if “remote work makes people happier, healthier, and even more productive”1 why would employees want to return to the office?
In response, we believe many employees are attracted to the office (at least some of the time) for:
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Organisations also need employees to return to the office (at least some of the time) for good reasons:
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However, letting employees choose how many days to work in the office is a risk:
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Leaders can avoid this risk by scheduling team members to work in the office at the same time (where possible). This would also benefit employees, who:
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So what else can organisations do to encourage employees to return to the office for at least some of the time? Apart from introducing more workplace ‘freebies’, another initiative is to redesign the office.
Employees today “want offices that feel more like the home environments they’ve (become) accustomed to.”1 To cater for this need, some office design ideas to consider are:
“Booths or areas to sit down and have a cup of coffee. Lounge spaces to sit and talk. Traditional conference spaces. Places introverts could get away. Gathering spaces for people to come together in an informal way.”11
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In conclusion, our view is that even in the new world of widespread ‘work from anywhere’, offices still have a vital role to play, and provide significant benefits for organisations and their employees.
Norton Rose Fulbright assists organisations to efficiently and effectively address the legal aspects of the new global work environment, including working from anywhere. Please reach out if we can assist your organisation in this respect.
Our next paper will focus on the best ways to overcome the leadership challenges arising from ‘work from anywhere’.
PwC US Remote Work Survey, ‘It’s Time to Reimagine Where and How Work Will get Done’, 12 January 2021.
K Morgan (quoting E Bernstein and M Dixon), BBC Worklife, ‘Remote Work is Working. So, Why do we Need a Physical Space?’, 22 July 2021.
Businesstech, ‘South Africa’s Office and Work-From-Home Plans have Changed for 2022’, 27 December 2021.
H Ren, Sydney Morning Herald, ‘In 10 Years, Remote Work Will Simply be Work’, 17 February 2022.
Publication
In the rural village of Gwanda, Zimbabwe, a mother walks several kilometres each day to find firewood so she can cook for her children.
Publication
Southern Africa is a key focus of attention at the present time, as it faces a perfect storm of an energy emergency due to hydropower generation being severely impacted by reduced water levels due to droughts whilst the demand of its regional miners for clean baseload power rapidly accelerates.
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