Around 71 per cent of the respondents find managing teams easier in offices, 72% are satisfied with networking in a physical workspace thus highlighting that, physical offices will continue to be the key for collaboration, culture, and overall business success.

While 2021 started with a gradual return to the office on account of the declining cases, the sudden resurgence of the pandemic postponed the permanent back to office transition. Awfis’ latest report gauges the views and preferences of the workforce on various important topics like the eventual return to the office, the changing workspace location preferences, and the need for flexible work environments further to the second wave. It aims to shed light on what matters to employees as they continue to adapt to the new way of work with exceptional resilience. It will also help organizations to adopt suitable work models in accordance with these emerging trends.

Awfis, India’s largest network of coworking spaces, launched the Awfis Workspace Survey Report that offers a comprehensive assessment of how India’s work ecosystem has further changed on the back of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is a follow up to the Awfis Remote Working Report released in August last year, which unearthed valuable insights on workforce sentiments towards working from home and the resultant behavioural patterns observed during the first wave.

The insights captured in the report have been derived from a survey conducted amongst 1000 Indian working professionals across different job roles and industries. The survey was undertaken in May & June 2021 and covers participants from seven metros.

 SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

·  Work from home vs Office: 71% of the respondents find managing teams easier in offices, 72% are satisfied with networking in a physical workspace thus highlighting that, physical offices will continue to be the key for collaboration, culture, and overall business success.

· Overall career satisfaction: A combined 74% of the participants admitted to being unsatisfied as far as career advancements with many experiencing diminished professional growth due to continued remote work.

· The Hybrid workspace: 72% of the workforce favour a hybrid work model that is a combination of working from home and working from the office premises.

· Flexibility & Future: 57% of the workforce are ready to trade in a higher salary to do part-remote work or consider leaving the company for another job that offers them more flexible options.

· Location Preferences: 58% of the workforce desired the flexibility to work from the nearest branch office and/or coworking space provided by their employer pointing towards work near a home being the way to go.

· Vaccination & the way ahead: 82% of the respondents are comfortable with returning to the office premises with some level of flexibility, once they are vaccinated.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

· The office is here to stay: The survey reaffirms the importance of a physical base for better communication, collaboration, transparency and shared work culture among employees.

· Expected rise of the hybrid work model: Majority of the respondents preferred a hybrid work setup that gave them the freedom to alternate between work from home and work near home/office as and when required.

· Companies need to adapt accordingly: Companies risk losing their potential talent to more flexible organisations, highlighting the need to adapt and develop an appropriate work culture/model.

Amit Ramani, CEO & Founder, Awfis, said, “While at the start of the year most of us anticipated a gradual return to normalcy and offices in turn, the second wave of COVID postponed a permanent return to work. However, it has reinforced a definite shift in the way we work, which is here to stay. Organisations will have to respond to the demands, opportunities and challenges of the new normal. We hope that this report equips key decision makers within organisations across sectors with critical insights on what their employees want, in order to devise sustainable long-term workplace strategies.”

He further added, "The emerging trends indicated in the report further reiterate the importance of a hybrid work model which suits the needs and preferences of employees as well as organisations. As a leading flex workspace provider, we at Awfis will continue to serve our customers with our existing and upcoming best-in- class services that are aligned to this new normal.”