The risks of remote work are rapidly becoming apparent, but returning to the office is this straightforward

The nearly two-year-long pandemic accustomed us to freedom: working from home has been relaxing in its own way, and giving up daily commutes has significantly freed up our schedules, even within a single week. Teams meetings don't necessarily require jeans or a neat hairstyle, and you can work on tasks requiring concentration uninterrupted in your own peace.

Now, two years after the end of the remote work recommendation, the concern of management and decision-makers is clear: for the sake of organisational culture, employee well-being, and work efficiency, employees must return to the office on a large scale.

Every five minutes spent in the office among colleagues is valuable when compared to an employee sitting alone week after week, month after month, in remote work. A strong return to the office is beginning.

Before the pandemic, the proportion of anchors, i.e., those working in the office 4-5 days a week, was 84% of the respondents to the survey. In 2023, the corresponding proportion was only 42%.

On the other hand, the proportion of those visiting the office, i.e., working in the office at most one day a week, has increased from two percent to 25% in the same period.

Such a significant change will be reflected in organisational cultures and work communities.

_{Source: Martela Insights 2018–2023. Survey data from over 15,000 respondents.}

Three reasons why returning to the office as soon as possible is essential

1. The risks of remote work are condensed into deteriorating well-being

According to the spring 2024 results of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health's How is Finland Doing? study, remote work is associated with increased loneliness and boredom at work, leading to a decline in employees' optimism and hopefulness. Now is a crucial moment to weigh the personal cost of the freedom of remote work and to elevate the appreciation of the community and even brief encounters in the office work. Extensive well-being at work has implications for the national economy.

2. Returning from remote work to the office is a lifeline for organisational culture

In addition to the challenges of well-being, many organisations have observed that four years of home offices have eroded the culture built over previous decades. Since organisational culture lives and evolves primarily through interpersonal interaction, maintaining it requires commitment from all members of the organisation. Empathy between people is one of the most important resources in knowledge work and the foundation of a healthy organisational culture. Empathy develops in genuine interaction situations, and therefore influencing and supporting organisational culture from remote work is laborious or even impossible.

3. The office creates a place for knowledge transfer and problem solving

The office is not just a physical space – it is a place of encounters where tacit knowledge is transferred from seniors to newer employees, ensuring the inheritance of valuable expertise. It is easy to casually ask a colleague at the coffee machine if they can solve a tricky challenge that has been bothering you, or alternatively, share feelings related to your day. Spontaneity is better realised in an office environment than through digital communication tools.

"Why should I come to the office when I'm on Teams all day?"

Remote work is widespread. After the pandemic, a persistent claim has emerged among knowledge workers that their workdays are spent entirely on Teams, making it unnecessary to go to the office.

It is true that the number of online meetings has increased in recent years, and functional spaces are needed in the office for them. However, employees who spend the entire day on Teams are in the minority, as according to Martela Insights data, 75% of office workers estimate that they are in online meetings for two hours or less on a typical workday.

Even if the workday is meeting-heavy, meeting colleagues and co-workers during lunch breaks, in the office corridors, or at the coffee machine is much more refreshing than scrolling through your phone during breaks on remote workdays. Despite the importance of encounters, the office should primarily be a place for work, i.e., smooth meetings and a good working environment.

A smart office reduces the desire for remote work – returning from remote work to the office requires the right kind of spaces

It is now extremely important for employers to recognise that from the employees' perspective, remote workspaces serve the daily space needs of work better than the office (Martela Insights data 2018–2023). The situation sounds paradoxical: working from home is more efficient than at the office?

According to respondents, tasks requiring concentration, online meetings, calls, confidential discussions, training sessions, and breaks and recovery are all better managed in remote work than in the office. Only spontaneous conversations are better in the office, and respondents see no difference between remote workspaces and the office for ad hoc meetings.

According to Martela Insights data, on a typical workday, 67% of surveyed employees spend 5–7 hours doing independent work at their workstation. If concentration and meetings are perceived to be smoother in remote work than in the office, there is something significantly wrong with the office environment. Every office should have spaces that meet the needs of employees.

When employees' experience of work efficiency at home is this positive, it is no wonder that it is difficult to attract them back to office work. If and when employees are to be brought back to the office on a large scale, employers practically have no other option but to improve the working spaces.

Supporting the return from remote work to the office through space and furniture changes: how to proceed?

To motivate employees to return to the office, the office must be a better option for work than home. How is it possible to work efficiently without encounters and work peace being on a collision course?

Three key things to ensure a functional office:

Create quiet spaces in the office where employees can concentrate and work in peace all day if they wish.
Enable spontaneous encounters in spaces where people like to go for micro-breaks. Short conversations and exchanges of ideas are also valuable.
Invest in ergonomics by providing high-quality professional furniture in the office, designed according to EN standards for eight-hour workdays.

Workplace design helps in the return to the office

Has it happened in your organisation that your office does not quite meet the needs of work, but you are not exactly sure what should be done in the space?

At Martela, we design your premises based on long experience, the latest research data, and user needs.