Are hybrid workplaces the future? These return to office stats confirm the same.

Large tech companies like Goldman Sachs, Apple, Amazon, and Ernst & Young have already started implementing a cautious return to office strategy. There seems to be a surprisingly large number of employees who’ve even returned to the office. According to The Washington Post, about 32% of employees are back in the office already. Regardless of their size, most organizations are actively adopting technology to help them plan their return to office and manage the new agile workplace. This blog discusses what’s happening in the new normal and how technology is assisting organizations in coping with it.

Back in December 2019, we all were living a life familiar to us. Until like the plot of a dystopian movie, the pandemic ruptured it all. Well, a lot has changed in the last two years. The pandemic is far from over. Masks and sanitizers have become a part of our daily life. The workplaces that we were so familiar with have changed. Hybrid workplaces seem to be the “New Normal.” And organizations are coming up with their customized return to office strategy.

Returning to the workplace wouldn’t be easy for more than one reason. For one, life ranks higher than work in the larger scheme of things. Therefore, it would be naïve to think a group email can bring back people to work. Nothing short of a well-planned and organized effort will work. It would be best if you plan, prepare, communicate, and convince people to return.

After more than a year of dealing with COVID-19, by now, we all are aware that a face mask is incredibly effective when trying to prevent the virus. Several studies have shown that wearing face masks can reduce airborne transmission. And COVID-19 is all about airborne transmission. Let us look at this image to understand why masks are essential.

To bring this pandemic to an end, experts believe that a large share of the world’s population needs to be immune to the virus. The safest way to achieve this is with a COVID-19 vaccine. Within less than 12 months after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several research teams from different countries rose to the challenge and developed vaccines that can protect one from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

There is no doubt that the pandemic has changed our world. But we can safely say that COVID-19 has become a catalyst to change the future of work. This change has inspired companies to automate, digitize, and innovate.

After a long period of uncertainty, banks in the US seem to be doing all they can to ensure a safe return to office for their employees. Several large banks – JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, M&T Bank – in the last months of 2020 were delaying their return to office – but not without reason.

In the past few months, most of us have faced extended workdays, Zoom fatigue, blurring lines between personal and professional lives, and occasional bouts of social isolation. Such inconveniences make us detest the concept of work from home. On other occasions, it feels like a dream come true. How would you feel if you are suddenly asked to work from office?