As Singapore begins the process of opening up, is the traditional office still relevant? Here are ways of working SMBs need to rethink and consider in a post-pandemic world.

A physical office in a non-traditional sense

A physical office offers less distractions compared to working from home, giving employees the focus they need to concentrate. They have a dedicated workspace in the office, which might be helpful for those with space constraints at home. Most offices also provide better reliability in terms of connectivity, and enable more efficient collaboration between teams as meetings and discussions can be held face-to-face.

Yet the threat of the pandemic remains, and businesses will need to continuously ensure the health and safety of workers in the office. Moreover, business owners will once again need to budget for the costs associated with maintaining a physical workplace. These costs may have increased as a result of COVID too, with regular cleaning and sanitization

Instead of serving as a place to do traditional 9-to-5 work, offices will be transformed into collaborative spaces and hubs for flexible work, giving rise to the hybrid working model.

A hybrid approach to work as a way forward

A hybrid work model gives staff flexibility. They can work during their most productive times in locations that suit their best work — either alone at home or in a more social setting such as the office. 

It can also better accommodate employees with disabilities or those with caretaking responsibilities, and reduce health exposure risks and office expenses.

However, such a model is not without its challenges. Collaboration can be difficult for some, and communicating with remote team members requires extra effort so they don’t feel left out. There’s also the added costs that come with ensuring employees have the right equipment and technology — both at home and in the office — to get work done. There are also connectivity requirements for working both in and outside of the office. SMBs need a reliable connection for both sides.

How to make a hybrid model work for your business

Getting hybrid working right is not an easy feat, so here are a few tips:

• Restructure your work weeks
  Designate a few days of the week where staff are encouraged to come in and work or socialise with their teams. They can then spend the rest of the week working from home. Additionally, you could also designate certain hours in the day as focus hours so employees can get work done without worrying about meetings or other distractions.
• Redesign your office
  Create a more collaborative environment to entice workers to come into the office, including a mix of team spaces and more casual spaces for working on one’s own.
• Create equal benefits and opportunities for all employees
  Ensuring both remote and in-office workers receive the same benefits and opportunities is key. For example, you can have everyone meet from their own computers — even those in the office — or you can send remote workers a takeaway meal during your monthly catered lunches. For something more substantial, make sure everyone in your team is evaluated according to their performance and can contribute and grow regardless of where they work.