The effect of COVID-19 on the workplace
On 15 March 2021, the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster. Along with measures such as immediate travel restrictions and the closure of schools, the president urged businesses to allow their staff to work from home, resulting in the shutdown of offices around the country.
White collar workers were suddenly exchanging the boardroom table for their coffee table, left to create their own schedules, and Zoom meetings were the order of the day as businesses scrambled to adapt to the WFH (work from home) model.
Since then, more than a year has passed - companies have learnt to adapt to being flexible, and adjusted their plan based on the various lockdown levels the country was placed under. This new way of working has proved that there are both upsides and downsides to working from home, which is something we wouldn't have been able to experience on such a large scale if the world hadn't been rocked by the pandemic.
A positive outcome to working from home has been giving employees a better work-life balance, with less time spent commuting and more time spent with loved ones. Working from home has also come with its own set of issues, namely leaving it up to employees to manage their own work schedule which often means working overtime/after hours, reduced supervision and direction resulting in underperformance, as well as social isolation.
Fast-forward to the second quarter of 2021, and we're seeing a lot of businesses adapting a hybrid model, with two or three days spent working from home and the rest in the office.
The new way of working has also influenced the commercial property sector. Businesses have been forced to stop and reassess their commercial property needs. What used to be a scramble to acquire prime office real estate, especially in the metros, has made way for an influx in empty offices, as many companies started reassessing their office space requirements.
This meant different things for different companies and sectors. Some have decided to move towards establishing one large, centralized head office, while others are opting to relocate to a smaller premises. Whatever a company's need, one thing has become clear - the way we work has changed indefinitely.
If you're considering adapting your office space to better suit your company's workplace policy, contact one of our OfficePlace brokers today to help you find the office or commercial space that works for you.