More technology for remote working is key to the future of the office
A survey of real estate and IT professionals across a range of industries has revealed that better remote working technology is perceived to be twice as important as workplace testing.
Workplace creation specialists Unispace surveyed over 2,000 senior Real Estate and IT professionals across Europe on the topic of the future of work, and what to expect from the workplace of the near future.
40% of respondents to the Unispace survey expect there to be more technology for remote working in a post-Covid workplace and 34% are expecting to see a new office layout. Just 21% of real estate and IT professionals expect to see rapid testing kits for all staff to be made available for office workers.
Stuart Finnie, regional director of Design at Unispace comments: “Technology is important, but the future of the workplace is focused on putting people first. Tech will be a big draw for new candidates and has an important role to play in connecting those working remotely and creating a workplace that enables employees to be more productive. But decisions about technology in the workplace must be centred on how employees will use and benefit from it, rather than the technology driving these decisions.
“Technology can help businesses achieve goals by enabling more collaborative working and providing us with a wealth of data to help inform preferred workplace strategies, for example, but it does not solve everything. Technology should be viewed as a support rather than the focus, after all, one of the core reasons people want to go back into the office is for face-to-face interactions, which technology cannot replace.”
The future of the office remains the subject of fierce debate. A recent Deloitte poll suggested that the office is still an integral part of people’s working lives, with more than half (58%) of employees aged under 35 who are currently working from home saying that they are finding it challenging.