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Neocon 2022: Is Hybrid Work Here to Stay?
During the pandemic many people began working from home. Now that life is returning to normal, will they return to the office, or will they continue to work remotely?
In early 2020, life for billions of people suddenly changed as the COVID-19 virus spread around the world, causing a global pandemic. In North America, as in other parts of the world, public health measures meant to minimize the transmission of the virus suddenly made working from home a requirement. Virtual communication tools like Teams, Slack, and Zoom kept people connected and productive. “Let me share my screen” and “I think you’re on mute” became common phrases in the new, virtual workplace. People outfitted their home offices and let their business casuals collect dust. The nature of work, both where and how, changed.
Two years later, the virus is still with us, but it’s no longer an existential threat. Working from home is not required. Offices are open, and some people have returned. But others have not—at least not full time. Instead, they have opted for “hybrid work”—a flexible model in which they choose for themselves where to work, be it in-office, from home, or from some other remote location.
Is Hybrid Work Here to Stay?
Is hybrid work here to stay? Will some employees continue to choose the virtual workplace over the physical one? Businesses and organizations, large and small, are looking for answers.
At Okamura, we’re curious about these questions as well. So, we decided look for answers at NeoCon—a commercial interior design event held in Chicago, drawing more than 35,000 design professionals from around the globe. We asked NeoCon attendees what they think about hybrid work and its future. To do this, we conducted a short survey and spoke with visitors to the Okamura showroom. The results, while by no means conclusive, were insightful. (For more information about NeoCon, please check out “NeoCon 2022: A Day at The Show” to see what was new and trending this year.)
Here’s what we learned from our survey and the conversations we had about hybrid work:
How do you split your time between in-office and remote work?
We began our NeoCon survey by asking showroom guests how they split their time between in-office and remote work. Reflecting on their current situation (represented in blue), 64 percent of respondents said they engage in some form of remote work—varying from just a little, “25% Remote Work,” to full-time, “100% Remote Work.” In contrast, 36 percent of respondents said they work “100% In-Office.”
But is remote work just a trend that will pass as life returns to normal? To see, we asked survey takers to imagine themselves in the future and what they believe their in-office and remote work split will be in two years (represented in orange). The results were insightful: Overall, the number of respondents who expect to engage in some form of remote work increased to 73 percent, up nine points. This suggests remote work may become more prevalent in the future and is not just a passing trend.
There were also some interesting shifts within the categories of working location: “100% In-Office Work” and “100% Remote Work” both decreased. Conversely, “50% Remote Work” and “25% Remote Work” rose a combined 18 percentage points. This suggests that while the number of people engaging in some form of remote work may increase in the future, the habits of in-office workers may evolve over time—with more people spending time in the office occasionally, but less people working in the office exclusively.
In conversation, many NeoCon attendees framed the choice of in-office and remote work as a personal decision. “I know what works best for me—so let me choose,” explained a marketing professional. This sentiment was echoed by a business owner, albeit somewhat reluctantly: “You can't order people back to the office. They’ll leave. People want to decide for themselves. Companies need to give people a reason to come back.”
“You can't order people back to the office. They’ll leave. People want to decide for themselves. Companies have to give people a reason to come back.”
When is remote work, from home or another non-office setting, most effective?
When is remote work, from home or another non-office setting, most effective? The answer is clear: when doing individual focus- and task/process-oriented work. Remote work allows people to choose the environment that is best for them. for some, “the office is loud and distracting,” interrupting their concentration and hindering that ever-important “flow” state. Given the opportunity to choose, they gravitate toward quiet, distraction-free spaces. For those people seeking to avoid distraction, working remotely has been a revelation: “Finally I can work!”
But working remotely does not come without challenges. Some degree of loneliness was a frequently observed side-effect. “I'm so much more productive at home, but I miss having people around,” explained one person. Another person discovered that their home, during the summer, was no longer a quiet and peaceful place to work: “There are too many distractions—my husband, my kids, even my cats!”
“I'm so much more productive at home, but I miss having people around.”
When is in-office work, from the office, most effective?
When is in-office work most effective? Again, the answer is clear: It’s most effective when people want to collaborate, meet, and get to know one another. The office is a natural place to do this. Properly equipped, workspaces can help people gather and create together, often more naturally than through virtual tools.
As mentioned above, the busy hubbub of the office can be a challenge for some. But for others, the hive-like atmosphere is energizing. “I love the buzz of the office” was a common refrain from showroom guests. A design student, just beginning an in-person internship, astutely observed, “There’s something special about an impromptu conversation—that can’t happen over Zoom.”
“There’s something special about an impromptu conversation. That can’t happen over Zoom.”
In the future, which areas of the office will be most important in supporting work?
In the future, which areas of the office will be most important for supporting work? Overwhelmingly, NeoCon visitors believe collaborative spaces will be the most important. But casual/lounge spaces and small meeting/conference rooms also scored high. Perhaps, this should be no surprise—as we saw above, the office is where people want to gather and work together. Better outfitting workspaces to support these activities makes sense. For some businesses, the transformation is already underway. One manager shared: “Our office is 75 percent collaborative space and 25 percent workspace—pre-COVID, it was the exact opposite.”
It’s worth noting that semi-private workspaces, like pods and booths, also ranked high. The buzz of the office can be distracting, and solutions like these provide an easy getaway.
“Now our office is 75 percent collaborative and 25 percent work—pre-COVID, it was the exact opposite.”
Conclusion
Is hybrid work here to stay? Our NeoCon survey and conversations with Okamura showroom guests suggests, yes, and it will grow in popularity. People value the freedom to choose where they work best: remote for individual focus- and task/process-oriented work and in-office for group gatherings and collaboration work. But the nature of hybrid work will continue to evolve—and with it, the workplace—shifting, as one architect observed, “from a place for work, to a tool for work.”
Words and graphics by David Foster
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