From the emergency solution to the optimum for companies

Efficient and motivated at the remote workplace - energizing people

Even with a good connection to colleagues and trained managers, the home office can become a motivation trap. Before the pandemic, it was still the key to effective work, to an optimal work-life balance. Now, one Corona summer-winter-spring later, things look different for many. Lack of social contacts, stress and excessive demands are the result.

This is certainly due in part to the pandemic, the impact of which many are experiencing as a prolonged crisis. This makes people scared, sad or even angry, which they experience as stress.

Shifting down a gear would be one solution. But that is easier said than done.

Here, small rituals help to leave work behind from time to time. Studies show that home office workers often work more hours than less - something that many employers still fear. Employees should therefore create rituals for switching off, such as pushing the office chair under the desk or deliberately going for a run or reading the newspaper, in order to get some distance from the job in their heads.

Self-organization is the magic word, and from this comes the intrinsic motivation to really work effectively. So - even if home office sounds to many like ordering pizza and chilling on the sofa with your laptop - create fixed structures for yourself. This starts in the morning, when you put on official office clothes instead of jogging pants.

Structure your day with times for e-mails, times for communication and times for concentrated work. Schedule breaks and learn to say "no" to constant availability or "just a quick question" from bosses and colleagues.

But despite all self-organization, companies are also responsible for "energizing" their employees.

This can be done in a variety of ways. For example, the week can be peppered with small events that stand out from the daily routine, such as a virtual quiz with small prizes. The team playlist on Spotify or even small celebrations for reaching a milestone. The key here is to be creative. Even small talk in the morning can improve the day for the team member because he or she feels understood and taken seriously.
Unfortunately, all of this cannot replace one thing: the shared, social interaction in the office.

Speaking of the office, even though there is no end in sight to the pandemic, many companies are planning to return workers to their old workspaces. But is it that simple? And does it make sense to simply pick up where you left off at the beginning of 2020?

The workplace of the future

We actually answered this question at the beginning of the text. No, it isn't! Unfortunately, it is also a fact that the majority of companies have done nothing to improve the work situation - spatially - either in the home office or in the company. The current Leesman study sums it up well - in terms of home office: Only 40% have a dedicated space or office at home. The majority of 60% either just have a dedicated area in their living room for working or work wherever there is space.

Let's assume that and the pandemic will continue for a long time: What do 21st century workplaces need to look like in order to create optimal, motivational and effective environments for companies, employees and customers?

The Virtual Interactive Professional, as Philip Vanhoutte calls the type of virtual and remote knowledge worker, must excel in four areas:

• Schreiben/redaktionelles Arbeiten: Hier ist die Konzentration entscheidend. Dies erfordert einen geschlossenen Raum mit guter audio-visueller Privatsphäre oder kurz: RUHE.
• Präsentieren/Verkaufen: Eine energische Sprachkommunikation ist unerlässlich, um eine kraftvolle Botschaft zu vermitteln, die andere aber stören könnte …
• Interagieren: In virtuellen Meetings bei denen gutes Zuhören (Sprachverständlichkeit) und energische Zusammenarbeit unerlässlich sind.
• Auftanken: Abseits von Büroansichten und Sound – zur Kontemplation.

So what you need at your home office is a private and enclosed space to allow writing / selling / interacting in excellent acoustic isolation. And equally 'escape' opportunity in the (non-work) spaces to recharge energy. It is therefore not only time to consider home office, remote workplaces and mobile working as independent possibilities, but as set possibilities that - if the activity allows it - should be open to everyone and for which independent spaces must be created. Now, it is also the case that currently our houses and apartments are not designed to also serve as workplaces.

What does that mean for the future design of living space?

First of all, if the house is used as a workplace, there must be a dedicated space for work. Many people who work from home during lockdown do so from kitchen tables or the sofa. These are usually unsuitable for ergonomic reasons. The type of space needed varies depending on the type of work. Home offices therefore cannot be designed according to the "one size fits all" principle. Depending on the type of work, they also need to be designed for technological equipment as well as collaboration opportunities, and acoustics and bandwidth, which tend to be neglected in Germany, also need to be considered.

In the context of (home) workplaces, the issue of biophilia should also be considered in their future design. "Biophilia" refers to man's innate connection to nature. There is a wealth of research showing that access to natural light, sounds, smells and textures has positive effects on well-being and supports effective work. In some workplaces, this has already happened in the form of living walls or other green spaces, water features and access to real daylight; in others, the only greenery is the potted plant on the desk.