Welcome back to the BCRS blog.There is no doubt that there has been a lot of realisation during the crisis that some businesses can consider working from home permanently. However, with the relaxation of guidance from the government at the beginning of August regarding working from home, the Prime Minister has encouraged employers to bring staff back to their offices. Although, many businesses have warned team members that there will be a gradual return to work and many employees will continue to work from home until January 2021 at the earliest. But what are the advantages of a physical office environment for businesses? Keep reading to find out more.

Social Interaction

For me, one of the many reasons for returning to the office is for social interaction. Working from home can be isolating. Seeing familiar faces that you were used to seeing everyday of the week that you haven’t seen for a number of months can be refreshing.

Structure

The morning commute, work attire and office environment provide great structure. This gives employees a more disciplined approach than working from home and results in a more productive working day. The home is full of distractions. Whether it is the temptation of the television or friends and family, concentrating when working from home can be difficult. When you are in the office everyone is ultimately working towards the same goal so staying focussed is easier.

Professional Communications

If, like us here at BCRS there is a need to meet with colleagues or clients often, doing this face-to-face rather than over Skype, Zoom or Microsoft Teams is more effective. It allows you to better gauge people’s emotions, without the hiccups and disruptions of technology such as poor internet signal.

Innovation

The office is a place for collaboration and innovation. Many decisions and ‘light bulb’ ideas are spurred from face to face conversations with passing colleagues or overhearing other discussions in the work environment (especially in an open plan office like ours). As a marketer, many of my ideas are spurred from these kinds of conversations.

With the above in mind, looking after employee’s mental health is also a priority and all avenues need to be assessed before your team begin to transition back to the office premises. Allowing flexibility of where employees wish to work from in the first instance will ensure a smooth transition, whether that be a combination of office and home working to begin with or preferences of still only working from home and those that are itching to get back to the office environment full-time.

That’s all from me this week. For more tips and tricks and trends head to our blog page.

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Published by Lauren McGowan – Digital Marketing Assistant