The rise of remote work over the last few years has been truly astonishing. According to a piece in B2B Reviews, 4.7 million workers in the USA are remote at least half of the time. Some businesses are happy to allow their staff to work from home, but others aren’t happy with this shift.
If you’re a business owner, you may be wondering how you can stem this shift. Making the office a more desirable place to work is one method of doing so.
Astonishing Rise of Remote Work
The astonishing rise of remote work has been seen around the western world in recent times, brought about by the rise of internet platforms like Zoom and Slack that make it possible to work from anywhere.
This has also had some knock-on effects, with large numbers of people opting to move out of cities. According to some interesting research from VOXEU CEPR, more people than ever are moving house in the USA, often away from highly built-up urban areas. The article speculates that a massive reason for this is due to the availability of remote work.
Another possibility is that it’s simply easier than ever for people to sell up and move house, thanks to the rise of online services that make this possible. For instance, the cash house buyers at We Buy Any Home pledge to buy any property and can deliver payments within a week. Along with being fast and efficient, they guarantee the quoted payment in full. This allows people to quickly reinvest cash in new homes elsewhere.
Office Should be a Home Away From Home
Business owners clearly have a strong trend to contend with here, as many people see a strong appeal to working from home. For that reason, it makes sense to go the extra mile in the office and make some changes that are going to get people excited about going into work.
Steven Bartlett famously installed a slide in his Manchester Social Chain office to remind his staff that there’s still room for plenty of fun during the working day. It was an expensive addition, and there’s no need to go to such great lengths to please your staff. However, it’s a reminder that adding unique things can have a powerful effect.
Because remote work is so popular, it would make sense to install some home comforts in the office to make it feel less like an office. This could include flexible work zones, with sofas and armchairs. You could also put in a load of houseplants for a calming effect. Little upgrades like a good quality coffee machine could go a long way as well.
The ideal workplace is one that people are excited to go to, packed with features that make it more desirable than home. If you want to combat the rise of remote work at your office, you should think about including some nifty upgrades.