For decades, freelancers and creatives have been mastering the art of working from anywhere. In cafés, at home, using coworking spaces, the cliché of a designer behind a computer at a cozy and modern location while enjoying a warm cappuccino is an image that we have all seen. Apart from the benefits of being flexible, freelancers know the impact that places have on inspiration. With the rise of remote working, working from home has proven to be very convenient but, at times, an inspiration drainer. The lack of boundaries between personal life and work, family distractions, or just the unavailability of a comfortable working space at home are some of the disadvantages of working with your slippers on.
Freelancers and creatives know this and, for long time, they have been looking for environments that enthuse them, and make them feel productive and connected to their network (and the rest of the world). As organizations explore how to adopt hybrid working models, the opportunities to provide inspiring workspaces for employees are plenty. What if organizations made inspiring and attractive workspaces available to their employees so that they could access them based on their needs? What if organizations could activate a network of places on demand with the intention of keeping their employees connected, productive, and more than anything, inspired?
Providing alternatives such as flexible, on-demand remote workspaces is an option that is becoming increasingly attractive. Getting out of the house and changing the environment helps to clear the mind, giving structure to people’s days and improving productivity. Distributed workspaces can act as micro hubs that offer options for employees to be concentrated, or collaborate and connect with colleagues or customers. Giving access to attractive locations boosts inspiration and engagement.
Remote work will become commonplace, and combining working from home, at the headquarters and in distributed locations will be the norm. According to a McKinsey report, many sectors have high potential for remote work including industries like finance and insurance, management, scientific and technical services, or IT and telecommunications. The same report mentions that more than 800 occupations can be done remotely. It is expected that these sectors will embrace hybrid working models that give to their employees the flexibility they wish to have. The path forward looks bright, and consists of exploiting the complementarities that working from home, having an attractive headquarters office and providing a distriuted network of workspaces can deliver.
