PEOPLE | WORKPLACE SPECIAL
“ Many of the organisations we are currently working with are doing upgrades of space around offering social amenities . It ’ s about giving employees a reason to visit the office two to three times a week ”
Caroline Pontifex Director of Workplace Experience , KKS Savills
One of the reasons people are reluctant to return , says Caroline , is that their “ home office outperforms their work office ” when it comes to comforts , conveniences , and lack of commute .
This provides an opportunity , says Christine Li , APAC Head of Research at Knight Frank , to “ redefine the role of the office in enhancing our working lives , by offering better amenity provisions than what one might encounter working from home ”.
And many businesses are responding . Caroline points to the rise of the “ hotel office ”, with more firms following in bigtech footsteps and delivering all the services one would expect from a quality hotel , from concierge services to cafes , fitness centres and therapy spaces , to dog creches and social spaces . “ Many of the organisations we currently work with are doing upgrades of space around offering social amenities ,” adds Caroline . “ It ’ s about giving employees a reason to visit the office two to three times a week .”
Physical office strengthens collaboration , culture , cohesion . Socialising is one reason employees do want to return to the physical office , to build relationships , collaborate , and feel connected to the company culture –
62 September 2022