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Workplace Survey
Distance at Work (Part 1)
December 20 ,2021
With COVID-19, the sense of dis tance we feel surrounding work, such as the distance from the office, from members we work with, and from work itself has become more varied. We will explore what kinds of work styles workers are adopting, and what they are demanding for the future.
Distance from the Office From Now On : Ideal In-Person Attendance
First we will look at the sense of distance from the office that people wish to maintain in the future in the aftermath of COVID-19.
When asked about the ideal proportion of in-office work in the future, more than 70% of respondents wanted a work style that combined in-office and remote We have seen that many respondents desire a work style that combines in-office and remote work. But do they perceive the workplace differently according to the nature of the task? We asked people which they considered more productive for each task, inoffice or remote (including working work, with in-office attendance rates ranging from 10% to 90%.
Furthermore, looking at current work-from-home ratios, we found that the more a respondent worked from home, the more likely he/she was to wish for in-office attendance of 50% or less in the future. However, even among those who currently from home).Regarding individual tasks, about 40% of the respondents answered that working remotely was more productive. Slightly less than 50% of people answered that it was better to go into the office for minor consultations and impromptu discussions (Fig. 2). From this work from home five or more days a week, only about 20% wanted to go fully remote in the future (Fig. 1).
The protracted COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to rethink how the office should be, but it seems like many workers still want to go in to the office at least some of the time.
Distance from the Office From Now On : Work suited to the Office, and Work suited to Working Remotely
We have seen that many respondents desire a work style that combines in-office and remote work. But do they perceive the workplace differently according to the nature of the task? We asked people which they considered more productive for each task, inoffice or remote (including working from home).
Regarding individual tasks, about 40% of the respondents answered that working remotely was more productive. Slightly less than 50% of people answered that it was better to go into the office for minor consultations and impromptu discussions (Fig. 2). From this result, we can see that is important not to enforce attendance rates across the board, but to allow each person to choose the place that works best for the nature of the task at hand.
Distance from the Office From Now On : What People Expect of Seating
Around 40% of the respondents have answered that working remotely is more productive for individual tasks. If so, how should the office accommodate such changes? We asked people about seating arrangements before COVID-19, at present, and desired for the future.
The percentage of people with assigned seating fell due to COVID-19, and less than half of the respondents wanted assigned seating in the future (Fig. 3). On the other hand, more people want group address* and free address* systems in the future than had been using them before COVID-19 or at present. As work spaces have spilled over into areas outside of the office due to COVID-19, perhaps workers want to be free to choose their seats even when they are in the office.
* Group address system: Working areas are assigned to each team, group, department. Employees choose a seat from the ones assigned to their team or group.
* Free address system: Employees freely choose any available seat or open space, instead of having seats assigned to them.
Distance from the Office From Now On : Importance of FunctionalSpaces in the Office
In addition to seating arrangements, we asked how important functional spaces in the office would be if COVID-19 were to end, as part of our survey on thoughts about the office.
Many respondents answered that their importance remained unchanged, but even so, space to hold online meetings, space for work requiring concentration, and space for employees to socialize were deemed especially important (Fig. 4). It seems that if people are taking the trouble to come into the office, they want an environment where it is easy to conduct online meetings, do work that requires concentration, socialize, and consult colleagues on minor matters or having impromptu discussions.
As introduced in Fig. 3, the percentage of people who want assigned seating in the future is falling, and similarly in Fig. 4, the percentage of people who answered that personal desks will assume less importance is higher than for other items.
* We discuss the reasons for going into the office, and what kind of office feels inviting to workers, in Special Feature #2.
This article was reprinted from the KNOWLEDGE WORK DESIGN REVIEW by Okamura.
In Part 2, you will find information on ”Distance from members, the organization, and work"
Research: Ayumi Mineno, Kouichi Ikeda, Mai Morita（Okamura）
Edit: Nanako Ono
Illustration & Infographic: Shinji Hamana、Hana Fujii（Beach）
Production: Plus81 inc.
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