Agile Network India | The future of working from office by Janani Prakash

1. The Future of
Working
from Office
JANANI PRAKAASH
HEAD HR -QUANTELA

2. AGENDA
The Past and
the Present
01
A Peek into
the Future
02
Rethinking of
Work,
Workplace &
Workforce
03
What is in it
for you?
04

3. Fixed Work timings Work anytime
Work from Office Work from Anywhere
In person hiring and onboarding Virtual hiring and onboarding
Leadership visits Virtual Leaders connect
Work Travels Zero Travels
Less stressed productive employees Highly stressed and highly productive employees
More Human Connections Digital screen connections
Classroom learnings E- Learnings
PAST PRESENT

4. Meena and Rohan – Both
are working professionals
and they juggle between
household chores,
childcare and office work
Anirudh – Lost his wife
during pandemic and
now is responsible to take
care of his son and elderly
father apart from work
Parvez – Likes to work
from his home-based
office with less
distractions
Anusha – Loves to
go to office and derives
her energy from people
around
What's your story?

5. A peek into the future
A. The modified ecosystem
B. The changed employee needs
C. The rethinking of workplace
D. Anticipating possible failures
E. The redefined work, workplace
and workforce

6. A. The modified ecosystem
• Schools partially opened
• Lack of childcare/day-care facilities
• Kids are not vaccinated
• Elderly care
• Relocation to smaller towns
• Repurposed timings- Travel/hobbies, domestic
responsibilities
• Permanent life changes –loss of lives etc
THE PANDEMIC IS NOT OVER!

7. 93 %
Of employees want
flexibility in when
they work
B. The changed employee needs
• Two-thirds of people around the world want to
work flexibly when the COVID-19 pandemic is over,
a new survey shows.
• And almost a third are prepared to quit their job if
the boss makes them go back to the office full
time.
• Leaders are out of touch with employees and
need a wake-up call
• High productivity is masking an exhausted
workforce
• Gen Z is at risk and will need to be re-energized
• Shrinking networks are endangering innovation
67 %
Employees want
more in person work
or collaboration
76%
Of employees
want flexibility of
where they work
65%
Employees feel more
productive in flexible
set up
73 %
Of Employees want
flexible remote
options to stay
Avg number of days
per week people in
India want to work
from home
3.5 Days

8. POLL TIME
WHAT DO YOU MOST LOOK
FORWARD TO WHEN YOU
RETURN TO YOUR
WORKPLACE?
Please scan the QR code using your phone camera
OR
Use the link -https://www.menti.com/mqbucs6wes

9. C. The rethinking of workplace
Create a return-to-office environment that employees want
to rejoin
1. Know that the purpose of the workplace has changed
2. Recognize new meeting dynamics
3. Remain flexible with your return-to-work expectations

10. New purpose of the workplace
Transforming from a place to complete tasks to a
place to collaborate and meet
• More meeting rooms
• Collaboration desks instead of individual desks
• More formal and informal gathering spaces
• Well lit and colorful workspace that enhances
collaboration

11. New Meeting Dynamics
From travelling for important meetings to
managing most virtually
• Hybrid meetings are here to stay
• Investment in technology at office set up
• Get sophisticated collaboration tools

12. Return to Work Dynamics
Partial /rotational return plan to work is critical
• Enhances connection & collaboration
• Builds a sense of belonging
• Fuels innovation, creativity & problem solving
• Provides opportunities to learn from role models

13. Potential Work Models
Office Office
Home Home
Use
Judgement
Creativity
Level
of
Collaboration
Access to the worksite
Fully Onsite
Team Collaboration and Employee Choice
Partially
Remote
(2-3 days WFH)
Occasional Collaboration with options to
preserve employee choice and manage
cyclical space needs
Primarily
Remote
Source: BCG experience

14. POLL TIME
WHICH WORK MODEL
WOULD YOU PREFER ?
Please scan the QR code using your phone camera
OR
Use the link -https://www.menti.com/mqbucs6wes

15. D. Anticipating possible failures
Source: https://hrgemblog.com/
Managers undermine it: Do not support the hybrid model and make it difficult to work remotely
Inclusion or rather exclusion : Preferential treatment of those who come into the office more regularly
Wellbeing : The complexities of remote work of video call fatigue, blurred boundaries and longer working days stay unsolved
Team conflict: People come into the office on the same day as their friends, strengthening some bonds and weakening others
It didn’t live up to the hype: Only the workday gets longer, no one gets the benefits they hoped for
The offices weren’t up to it: Not having the right spaces for collaboration and communication cause too many challenges
Communication: Knowledge is unevenly shared with people depending on where they are and when

16. Rethinking of Work, Workforce and Workplace
1. What is the work?
2. What are the skills/competencies needed?
3. What’s needed to get it done efficiently ? (creativity/ collaboration
or both or neither)
Work
1. Who should do the work ?(full timers, part timers, freelancers)
2. What's their ecosystem and are their needs? (to do the work
efficiently)
3. How can the organization cater to them?
Workforce
1. What are the workplace requirements to do the work?
2. What are the tech and collab tools needed?
3. How humanistic is the workplace?
Workplace

17. 07 - In the end remember we are dealing with
people, their changed needs and career
aspirations.
05 - Think through on long term implications
and sustanance for any decision thats being
made. Start with a pilot perhaps.
02 - Work from office may never go back to
100% like earlier
04- Explore the tools and technologies
needed to enable the environment thats
needed for your need.
01 - Work from Home is here to stay
06 - Business needs need to be met amidst
cutting edge competition from an employer
value proposition standpoint. Watch out your
competitors move.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
03 - Enabling home office set ups while
redesigning the workspace to enable
collaboration is imperative
Putting everything into perspective

18. What is in it for you, if you are HR or
Business leader?
Reimagine possibilities – Rent coworking spaces in non-core
locations, increase travel budget
Creative ways to attract people to get back to work
Team composition
Infrastructure Cost
Organizational
needs
Culture
Individual
needs

19. What is in it for you, if you are an
employee ?
• Voice out your view on the infrastructure needs
• Articulate your changed ecosystem
• Anticipate changes and prepare
✓ Learning plan to familiarize yourselves with collaborative
tools
✓ Proactively make sure to not get/ feel excluded in a hybrid
environment
✓ Rethink ways to take care of domestic responsibilities –
parental/ child care
✓ Plan to have a rotational office visit in coordination with
your partner/ family member
• Approach the change with optimism
✓ Feel proud that you will influence
and see through the shift to
hybrid work
✓ Appreciate the opportunities to
reconnect and collaborate in
person
✓ Realize that the change is not just
for you but for everyone
✓ Hybrid environment empowers
people

20. How will you prepare yourself to get
back to office?
Type your response in the chat box

21. QUESTIONS

22. Sources & References
Articles/Papers/Report:s
https://thefutureorganization.com/5-tips-to-create-a-balanced-wfh-space-that-sparks-joy/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/08/26/three-winning-strategies-for-a-successful-
return-to-office/amp/
https://hrgemblog.com/2021/10/04/hybrid-working-where-did-it-all-go-wrong/
https://thefutureorganization.com/the-dark-side-of-flexible-work/
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work
https://ms-worklab.azureedge.net/files/reports/hybridWork/pdf/WTIVisualGuide.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-return-to-office/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/back-to-office-or-work-from-home-survey/
https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/return-to-work
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/back-to-office-or-work-from-home-survey/
Source for picture/icons- Noun Project, pngtree, freepik,pinterest

23. Annexure

24. Policy guidelines
• Mobility and location
• Compensation and Benefits
• Logistics and Security
• Work from home and
commuting stipends
Redesigned space
• Activity based redesign
• Reconfiguration for Growth
• Rightsizing to invest
Work models - Enablers
Skill Development & Training
• Managing distributed hybrid
teams
• Onboarding and Affiliation
• Performance Management
• Career Progression Pathways
Tools & Technology
• Communication and
collaboration
• Employee Wellness
• Productivity and activity
management
• Space access and logistics
Metrics to track impact
•Change in productivity and
effectiveness
•Change in Innovation
•Change In employee satisfaction
Source: BCG experience