Moving Towards A Hybrid Future

Right now, while we are still working from home, there is no real visibility on what our future of work will be. For Tan, this is causing some uncertainty.

“Before Phase 2 and this recent HBL started again, I’d brought some things into the office but then WFH started again, and I found myself missing them. I needed to buy them online again. I just hope this doesn’t keep happening.” Tan said.

Kapur said the abrupt shift to working from home at the beginning of the pandemic was definitely a challenge for many as getting into ‘work mode’ when your office is also your bedroom may be difficult.

But he added as remote and hybrid ways of working become more commonplace and even embraced, many employees are now setting up dedicated home offices to replicate a workplace environment and expecting the same experience if they do go into the office.

According to Sayed, the following considerations must be made:

Who will decide who’s coming to the office and who stays at home? For homebased employees, who pays for the technology to support them? And may have differing work styles, even for the same role. Those working from home may need highquality video cameras if they’re expected to participate in calls during work hours but aren’t able to use the commercial-grade cameras in the office.

Those who have tasted the benefits of working from home might not want to make a long-term return to the office. Some might prefer working from the office simply because there isn’t sufficient room to focus and be productive at home. Find out which work locations work best for your employees, and recognise that the corresponding technology deployed, whether headset, video camera, or both, will impact how your employees stay productive.

What are the financial considerations for a remote workforce? Do you provide allowances for them to purchase the technology needed? How can IT administrators be equipped to effectively manage the fleet of devices deployed to a distributed workforce?

MANY EMPLOYEES ARE NOW SETTING UP DEDICATED HOME OFFICES TO REPLICATE A WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT AND EXPECTING THE SAME EXPERIENCE IF THEY DO GO INTO THE OFFICE.