What will work be like in 2021?

As we say goodbye to 2020, in much of the UK - and indeed Europe - we find ourselves once again in the eye of the COVID storm. The road ahead is still an anxious one but this time around, with two vaccines starting to be administered, we can start to look to the new working year with some optimism.

As businesses begin to fully embrace hybrid models of working and indeed recognise the fundamental need for flexibility, we have no doubt that we will see the emergence of further digital and physical products and businesses that support these new working modes.

Remote working isn’t going anywhere

Remote work is here to stay but will become less isolated as increased vaccinations allows the world to open up again and we anticipate an increase in localised 'drop in' spaces for co-working as well as coffee shops and other hospitality spaces providing a multitude of locations to work from, allowing us the choice around our working location that we missed in 2020.

Digital technology will help us collaborate and engage

The growth of digital meetings allowed us to see the limitations of communicating online and we hope to see more dynamic products that improve digital means of collaboration, as well as technology that supports employee engagement. (We are going to trial mmhmm and sketchboard let us know if you have heard of any other innovations in this area?!)

The work hub is coming

As businesses return to the office during 2021, the physical workspace will of course need to be redesigned to facilitate new ways of working. We gained many insights from 2020 and are already working on the 'next generation workspace' for several of our clients. The work 'club' or 'hub' will need to engage employees like never before and we intend to make the next generation of workspaces the most dynamic and functional yet.

Image from hallobasis.com - an interactive installation in 2017 looking at how to make the office a better place

Further guidelines for home working introduced

We anticipate new guidelines, policies and practices to support people working from home/remotely/in office and political legislation to underpin these various ways of working.

A better approach all round

Flexibility, wellness, diversity and sustainability will (should) be forefront in every design brief and workspace mission, and we welcome this replacing the norm of 'bums on seats’ and capacity priority.

Whilst everything was not 'broken’ pre-2020, our working worlds were deeply flawed and lacking flexibility and functionality. The pandemic has shown us that as humans we have an admirable ability to adapt and many of us are reluctant to return to the old ways. Businesses will therefore need to embrace greater choice for all workers and workplaces will need to evolve in order to support these changes. Whilst this will of course take time, we believe that there is an opportunity to feel positive as we move into the New Year.  

In the words of Thomas Fuller, 'All things are difficult before they are easy'.

We wish you all a healthy and positive 2021,

Emma & Trifle* x