With restrictions relaxing, where do we go from here?

Now that we have a roadmap, the question begs, what which parts of our new normal are here to stay, and which ones will revert to our old model?  

For the most part, this countrywide experiment in working from home has been a resounding success. It has highlighted many long and short term advantages to this way of working, for both the employee and for the employer.  

For the employee;

 The average UK worker has gained on the average an hour a day, which over a year is 221 Hours or 9.2 Days of extra time. And this saving does not include the extra time saved due to higher productivity.

If you doubt the productivity argument, think to yourself, how much time you waste on "catching up" with coworkers, or office gossip, and the persistent "Chit Chat". 

And we cannot ignore the savings achieved due to the removal commuting.

For the employer;

 There are long and short term boosts in savings and efficiencies,

• Short Term

  • Greater efficiency for workers.

  • Greater staff retention.

• Long Term

  • Savings on Overhead.

    • Downsizing or ever eliminating office space.

      • Could you survive with on-demand space, for those rare all hands on deck meetings?

• Greater talent pool.

  • You no longer need to rely on local talent or the lack thereof.

For the Environment;

 The biggest winner by far, by removing the need for commuting, you can achieve;

• Reduction in CO2 emissions.

• Expansion of green space.

• De-centralizing of people.

• Repurposing of office space.

• Creation of a hyper-local economy.

Having taken everything above into account, it begs the question do we need to return to the office?