Research has shown that workplaces in the future are likely to be centred on the growing demand for spaces that enable collaborative work.
According to Inc. Magazine, the work from home boom is saving employers around $11,000 annually per telecommuting worker. Employees are also seeing financial benefits, saving between $2,000 and $7,000 per year.
What’s in store?
Predictions on the way offices will change vary from the eccentric to the conventional – but many have one thing in common: collaborative work is key.
Regus, for example, predicts that meetings will take place inside workers’ self-driving cars, with front seats swivelling to create a four person meeting space.
Research by US manufacturing company Herman Miller has shown that 70% of office architects and designers believe that new types of group work are the most important factors to consider in modern workplace design.
Microsoft has also weighed in – the tech giant believes that workspaces are changing from places where employees assess necessary data and equipment to places centred around collaboration and interaction with colleagues.
The rise of teleworking
Research suggests that employees are increasingly likely to work away from the office, perhaps leading to a workforce that conducts all of its work from elsewhere.
Between 2010 and 2012, the percentage of corporate workers working at least once a week in a corporate office fell from 100% to 89%.
Workers in the finance and business services sectors were the most likely to work outside of the office, with each sector accounting for 12% of telecommuters.
According to research conducted by Citrix Systems, the proportion of employers around the globe providing or expanding teleworking are as follows:
- US – 90%
- China – 85%
- India – 77%
- UK – 72%
- Germany and France – 71%
