OFFICE STILL HAS ITS PLACE
WANT WORK-LIFE BALANCE? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN YOUR OFFICE, WRITES LAUREN AHWAN
THREE in five Australian workers would quit their jobs if they were forced to return to the office full time.
New research by SEEK reveals 61 per cent of employees would leave their company if they could not at least adopt a hybrid model of work.
But experts warn against abandoning the workplace and say there are many forgotten benefits to being in the office.
LESS WORK, MORE FUN
For nearly three years, employees have missed out on the friendship and camaraderie that comes from gathering in the workplace – making their work more difficult, says human behaviour and performance specialist Christian Boucousis.
“Working remotely is 25 per cent harder than when you are working together,’’ he says.
“Work feels more like work when it’s done remotely than when it’s in the office.
“But work can be fun. Humans are designed to be together and that’s the number one benefit of going back to (the) work(place) – it’s being part of that team culture.’’
Conversing with co-workers faceto-face is much easier, and more genuine, than online, Boucousis says.
“We forget the power of things like body language,’’ he says.
“We are so used to staring at a computer screen trying to interpret all the (body) signals but there’s nothing better than seeing a real smile or a laugh.’’
IMPROVED WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Craig Cowdrey, chief executive of wellbeing and safety company Sonder, says returning to the office provides a clearer distinction between work and home, improving work-life balance.
Citing previous research that shows Australians are hoarding their holidays, Cowdrey says it is difficult for employees to justify time off in a work-from-home environment.
“Returning to a physical office for some employees reinstates a clearer boundary between work life and home life, making it easier for them to disconnect and improve their wellbeing,’’ he says.
Jessica Hall, head of workspace analytics at management consultancy Bendelta, says worker wellbeing is better managed in the office.
“There’s something really important about eyeballing a colleague every now and then to check on their wellbeing,’’ she says.
“Seeing people in person can be really important for the people who find it more difficult to speak up when they need help, or don’t always recognise when they should ask for help.’’
INCIDENTAL EXERCISE
Hall says workplaces also require a higher level of movement.
“It’s so easy when working remotely to sit down at the start of the day, settle into back-to-back virtual meetings, and then finish up literally one minute before I need to leave to pick up my daughter from daycare,’’ she says.
“Whereas when I work in the office, I have the commute to prepare for the day and, even if I have backto-back meetings, I’ll need to walk to a client’s office or, at the very least, change meeting rooms.
“This movement and change of scenery helps me to refresh and decompress.’’
ENJOYING CONTACT WITH A MUTE BUTTON
Having started a new job at the beginning of the pandemic, Elizabeth Orlando could not wait to get into the workplace and meet her colleagues.
Orlando, a senior marketing executive with Menulog, says remote work arrangements forced her to learn much of her new role over video calls and she missed being able to ask questions face-to-face without the delays caused by video buffering, emails and messages.
“There are so many benefits about coming into the office again but, ultimately, it is the small face-to-face interactions,” Orlando says.
“From a work perspective, the collaboration on projects in person allows the ideas to bounce off one another more effectively.
“It gets the concepts flowing without those pesky internet interruptions and I feel like everyone’s input is heard because you can’t hide behind a mute button.”
Menulog have celebrated staff returning to the office with Welcome Back lunches, which Orlando says has helped to build a strong team culture after working alone at home for so long.
“Apart from the work itself, it’s nice to get to know colleagues more personally by going out to lunch together, having a quick chat in the elevator and creating those valuable work friendships,” she says.
Moving forward, Orlando expects to adopt a hybrid approach to work, allowing her to spend extra time with family on her days at home and make the most of face-to-face conversations with co-workers when she is in the office.