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Why the future of work and workplace flexibility is about choice

Sponsored by The Executive Centre
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With the future of work in flux, discover how MNCs such as Standard Chartered Bank are re-evaluating their business strategy.

 

 

 

 

For most of the past century, the concept and social construct of where we work has primarily been confined to four walls and a desk. Whether that has been in a private, shared, or open-plan office, the workspace has revolved mainly around an outdated factory-like work model that measures productivity by metrics such as ’hours put in’ rather than ’quality of output’.

 

 

 

 

Today, modern technology and globalised communication systems have allowed us to become a more agile and mobile workforce. Collaboration now happens in real time and from anywhere, through mobile phones, virtual conferences, social media and even in line waiting for a coffee. As a result, the pandemic and the worldwide work-from-home measures have caused businesses and industries to urgently re-evaluate their real estate portfolios, communication channels and infrastructure needs.

 

 

 

 

Although the skeleton of office spaces hasn’t fundamentally shifted, the design and technology of the infrastructure and the usage of its inhabitants has changed significantly. The Covid-19 pandemic, like other global crises, has been a significant disruptor to the way we work, but it has also been an accelerator of social transformation. Successful companies in the future will be ones that are quick to adopt flexible working practices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drivers of workplace changes

 

 

 

 

During times of uncertainty and economic turbulence, many businesses look to retain as much cash as possible and minimise costs and expenditures. As such, when they downsize, they look to reduce real estate and the expenses that go with it, such as headcount, capital expenditure and operational costs. 

 

 

 

 

However, many companies with long-term, direct-from-landlord fixed leases find themselves unable to adjust their real estate footprint as the markets change. For these reasons, during the global financial crisis of 2008-2010 (GFC), many corporations began to see the potential in leveraging flexible workspaces and the coworking culture that was already blossoming at the turn of the millennium.

 

 

 

 

“As a solution, flexible workspaces provide ready to use, fully furnished and serviced workspaces for the headcount that’s needed at hand. This gives businesses much more flexibility to scale up or even down, and even to relocate at a relatively short notice compared to a direct lease with a landlord”, said Paul Salnikow, Founder and CEO of The Executive Centre, Asia Pacific’s leading premium flexible workspaces provider. “However, as with many trends, soon after the turbulence of GFC passed, many businesses returned to the old ways of using permanent leases with direct landlords. With Covid-19, however, since the issue is fundamentally one driven by both social wellbeing as well as financial challenge and change, leaders are being forced to relook at how they lead their organisations and people.”

 

 

 

 

As people are finding success and productivity amid the newly discovered flexible working arrangement, unlike the aftermath of the GFC, many of the social changes will roll over into the “new normal” and flexible working practices will become a part of the working norm in the future of work. In fact, The Executive Centre’s 2020 and 2021 Mid-Year Sentiment Survey found that over 82 per cent of their members stated that flexible workspaces were crucial to their business operations.

 

 

 

 

One of the reasons for this is that flexible workspaces help recruit from a wider international talent pool for specialist expertise, and help retain top talents by providing greater workplace flexibility. “The talent of the future are expecting flex; whether that’s flexible work hours or locations. And for many business leaders I’ve spoken with, being flexible is no longer an option but a requirement”, said Sheridan Perkins, Property Program Director of Standard Chartered Bank’s Future Workplace, Now program.

 

 

 

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Ultimately, for Perkins, their findings were that the future of work is about empowering their employees with choice and workplace flexibility. In their worldwide employee workplace trends survey of office-based staff found that its teams in countries with weaker infrastructure preferred to return to traditional offices; employees in regions with higher density saw staff wanting to return to either their traditional offices or a flexible workspace away from home. In comparison, employees in countries with an existing flexible working culture and established work-from-anywhere infrastructure saw higher adoption rates for hybrid work models.  

 

 

 

 

Shelley Boland, Head of Property Asia Pacific, Standard Chartered Bank, added, “The industry today is much more open-minded, there is a growing movement and workplace trend where employers are responding to their employees. Organisations are seeing things from the perspective of individual choice. Successful adopters of flex will be those that have the foresight to model and visualise how workplace changes may affect business outcomes, operations and employees. More than that, it’s about being flexible and agile enough to adapt if those models fail.”

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download the whitepaper report for more insights and best practices from Standard Chartered Bank and The Executive Centre’s Future of Work collaboration

 

 

 

Sponsored by The Executive Centre
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