Businesses are facing a real challenge in giving employees a reason to want to return to offices, according to COMMfusion analyst Blair Pleasant.
- Pleasant will be delivering a keynote during day 4 of UC Summit, in which she will talk through how offices can be transformed into environments that workers want to be in. Register to attend the event here
“I think the biggest issue is actually getting people to return; businesses are going to need a compelling reason” she said.
“People have found that they can be just as productive work from home and a lot of them are wondering why they should have to deal with a commute.
“Workers want a reason to go to an office and essentially it’s about teamwork, collaboration, socialisation and camaraderie… but we’re finding that not everyone is getting; they’re stuck by themselves on video conferences all day”
This leads on to the second biggest challenge, which is redesigning meeting spaces to make them a desirable place to be – and drive meeting equality.
Pleasant said that this will be trickier than many businesses expect because they’re moving from a remote working model where most people were equal.
“There was a level playing field when everyone was virtual but in a private environment where some people are virtual and some are in the office, it’s difficult,” she said.
“It might be harder to recognise when someone who’s remote wants to say something, as opposed to someone who’s sitting in the room.”
Pleasant will be speaking during another packed day of UC Summit. Other sessions to feature include:
- Russ Chadinha, Senior Director at 8×8, will talk through how businesses can optimise remote and hybrid workforces
- Cavell Group’s Finbarr Goode’ Ribbon’s Greg Zeweig; and Destiny’s Mattias Ohde will look at the implication of hybrid working on underlying networks
Register to attend UC Summit for free here
