Do I Need An Office?

With more and more statistics and surveys reporting that employees feel more productive when working remotely, the inclination may be to have a very limited office space or even none at all. But there are great reasons for your business to have an office and 94% of workers say they could be convinced to come back to the office.

The number one reason is collaboration. Indeed.com defines workplace collaboration as, “the process by which employees within a business work together to solve a problem or achieve a goal.” A survey from Zippia found that over half of workers rely on collaboration, with approximately 75% of employees highly valuing teamwork and collaborative efforts. Organizations that actively foster workplace collaboration have been associated with a 50% reduction in employee turnover rates. Furthermore, a significant majority of individuals in leadership roles attribute a lack of collaboration as the primary cause of workplace failures. In total, employees say they are more satisfied with their job when they collaborate at work.

One of the other primary incentives for working in a physical office is the opportunity to engage with colleagues. According to research by Microsoft, 84% of employees find motivation from socializing with co-workers and would be motivated to return to the office to reestablish strong team connections. Additionally, survey respondents expressed their willingness to return to the office more regularly, with most stating they would do so if their direct team members were present and if their work friends were also in attendance.

Additional reasons for being in a physical office include the ability for managers to provide more feedback and for more advancement opportunities. A majority of managers believe that their hybrid/remote working employees are missing out on impromptu or in-formal feedback. And 90% of CEOs say they’ll give raises and promotions to those that are in the office, reinforcing the idea that business leaders want to be able to see people being productive.

At the end of the day, workers are really wanting flexibility to collaborate in person when needed, yet also have uninterrupted time when they need to be productive on their own. So if workers are willing and possibly even wanting to come into the office, why are they not returning? Could the office itself be the problem?