Has the working week changed forever? How we may be going about our business in future
It’s the biggest lifestyle change ushered in by the pandemic. So are we stuck with remote working from now on and are offices a thing of the past?
IT is now a year since office-based businesses began working from home just before the first national lockdown, bringing a huge lifestyle change for us all virtually overnight.
Employees and companies are now asking how long will this continue, and is there any going back to the way we were. It seems not, with one business leader adamant that things will never be the same again.
Liberty insurance and its subsidiary Hughes Insurance have said that its 400 staff in Northern Ireland will be working remotely from now on, and outsourcing giant Capita — which has 1,500 staff-here—has-sai-dthe-same about workers in their call centres.
But among big businesses, that approach really is the exception rather than the rule.
Instead, what the employers have in mind, including our biggest employer, the civil service, is flexible working.
Yes, we are destined to return to our offices but we will be still doing a bit of working from home. Many firms are considering three days in the office and two days at home, or the other way round.
Donna Linehan, client services director at Belfast serviced office provider, The Scottish Provident Building, said it had been a “mixed” year.
“We have had some clients who stayed throughout, perhaps coming in maybe two or three days a week. It has been challenging, and we have lost some companies. We’ve kept our front door access locked but clients go in through a different entrance.
“But also we’ve had a lot who pre covid had half a dozen offices, and have maybe dropped down to one or two.”
Occupancy levels had dropped from their usual level of around 98% to around 75% and above in the pandemic but were rising again. “In the last five or six months, we’ve seen a significant pick-up in inquiries and people moving, so we’re back up into the 80s.
“It has been difficult, and it’s just really clients not knowing what to do as they don’t know how it’s (the pandemic) going to go.”
We are probably not missing the commute to work and some of us are enjoying our home comforts. But for people who have been juggling home schooling and caring responsibilities, working from home has brought a lot of extra hassle.
Many of us also lack the space to set up a proper desk in a dedicated room, and have instead spent a year working from the sofa or bedroom.
If the vaccination roll-out con-tinues at a healthy pace, it is expected that businesses will probably feel fairly confident about having people back by around September. The Executive’s roadmap out of restrictions includes a pathway for the return to offices but does not provide dates.
In phase three of the five-step plan for return to work, it says there should be a “phased return to on-site work and office spaces”.
But companies are not committing themselves to a set month, which is understandable, given the volatility of the pandemic.
Commercial property agents who look after the letting of offices have said that transactions have dwindled to nothing. They will be hoping that companies bring their staff back in large numbers. But there is likely to be some reconfiguration of spaces so that instead of long rows of workers sitting close together, there is room to spread people around.
One agent has said that they do not expect companies to cut back completely on the size of their offices as they anticipate staff will want the freedom to vary the days on which they come in. Some days, such as a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, may prove popular for people to be in — maybe Mondays and Fridays will be less so.
For our biggest tech companies, hybrid working is the way forward, though Allstate, our biggest in the sector with 2,400 staff in Belfast, Strabane and Londonderry, says it has not yet made any definite plans. It opened a £30m new office development in Belfast’s Mays Meadow in 2018.
But at least two are adamant that hybrid working will stay. Peter Russell, managing director of CANCOM in Ireland — formerly Novosco — which has a big office in Titanic Quarter’s Catalyst Inc with around 300 staff, said: “Personally, I believe working practices have changed forever, and a new hybrid engagement model will emerge, bringing together a positive balance of productivity, engagement, and employee well-being.
“We’re still to work through what that will look like at CANCOM UK &I, but I think it’s safe to say we will have a hybrid model in some shape or form.”
Caroline Greer from IRP Commerce, which also has an office with 20 staff in Catalyst, says having staff in an office can help foster camaraderie.
“IRP Commerce has always tried to be flexible in ensuring that the needs of staff are balanced with those of the business,” she said. “Thanks to technology, most business tasks can be completed successfully online, but nothing beats having our team together in one space to foster creativity, camaraderie and a sense of common purpose.
“We recently received funding from Intertrade Ireland for a health and safety consultant to work with us to provide a safe working environment post lockdown and we are looking forward to having everyone back in the IRP office in Catalyst when restrictions are lifted and it is safe to do so.”
Willie Hamilton, managing director of Liberty IT, which has around 500 staff, said: “We feel extremely lucky to have continued as business as usual during pandemic.
“Our key goal is maintaining our high levels of engagement amongst teams, whilst accommodating individual employee preference.
“We know we can work successfully and productively as distributed teams and continue to invest in technology to enhance the employee experience, ensuring we maintain a sense of connection and belonging.
“Presently our discussions are focused on how we use our Belfast and Dublin offices with purpose. When we reopen, we’ll run
‘The future of work will never be the same again... we foresee a hybrid of remote and office-based work’
a series of experiments to understand this and let our future office layout and use be dictated by our employee’s expressed preferences.”
Fintru, one of our fastest-growing tech companies, says there has been irreversible change for its 500 staff. It has offices in Belfast and Derry.
Katrien Roppe, chief of staff said: “The future of work will never be the same again following this period. Fintru is dramatically expanding and has invested in additional office space in both Belfast and Derry/londonderry to facilitate this growth.
“We are an agile company and foresee a hybrid of remote/office based working in the future where possible.
“Collaboration is key for our business model and we are committed to facilitating our employees and clients alike.”
There are nearly 23,000 people working in the civil service in Northern Ireland, and it has said it expects to continue with flexible working practices.
More than 1,000 civil servants are based in the Great Northern Tower next to the Europa Hotel in central Belfast, most of whom remain at home.
The civil service has announced it will have regional ‘Connect2’ hub offices in locations including Downpatrick, Ballykelly, Ballymena, Craigavon and Omagh though it says it will maintain significant offices in Belfast city centre.
But it is highly likely it will have to cut back the scale of its office space in Belfast.
A spokesperson for the Department of Finance, which looks after personnel matters in the civil service, said: “Civil servants will return to the workplace in line with public health advice.
“We expect to continue with flexible working practices to ensure we have a flexible and agile workforce. The recent announcement of regional hubs is an important part of these working arrangements.”
You would think that the embrace of home working might mean building new offices is becoming less popular.
But at present, four new office buildings totalling 764,000 sq ft are being built in Belfast at Olympic House in Titanic Quarter, The Ewart in Bedford Square, City Quays 3 and The Paper Exchange in Chichester Street.
At least three of those are due to be finished soon.
Another development, the 14-floor One Grosvenor Gate, got planning permission last week, and three big refurbishments will also be adding more space at The Kelvin at College Square East, The Vantage at Great Victoria Street and 35DP, above Boots at Donegall Place.
It seems offices are here to stay, but this time, employees might have a little bit more say on when they have to show up to them.