A revised list of wants and preferences is changing the workplace
Contributed by Sulaiman Saheh
A typical scenario faced by a white-collar worker in an office setting is the five-day daily commute to a specific office building, settling into one’s allocated cubicle and working for the next eight hours before leaving. Rinse and repeat.
But today, three years since the Covid-19 pandemic, and close to a year since pandemic restrictions were mostly lifted to allow full economic re-mobilisation, we find ourselves in a position of having a revised list of wants and preferences when it comes to office work.
At the height of Covid-19, many corporate workers had to resort to work-from-home (WFH). While some lauded it to be a better workstyle option as it leaves room for other obligations and eliminates commute hassle, others find themselves experiencing WFH fatigue due to the blurring of the line between work and home. With no distinct clock-in-clock-out element, working hours became unclear and often beyond the stipulated nine to five. Spatially, some find WFH not feasible due to lack of proper desk space or privacy within their homes – especially for those residing in multi-tenanted homes with only one common space, ultimately creating an uncomfortable and limiting WFH experience. Then comes the best next solution - co-working.
As a service provider of desk spaces and meeting rooms, co-working revolves around the concept of a shared workplace, typically in somewhat of an office design and equipped with general office amenities under an aesthetically pleasing interior umbrella. Users range from freelance individuals to teams and large corporates, all looking for the right office space that is readily available for immediate use over a customisable length of period.
