A leading real estate consultancy, CBS International, conducted a survey on “Traditional Office Vs. Home Office in a changed business environment ”among 250 domestic and international companies
Ever since the World Health Organization announced the pandemic caused by the emergence of the COVID-19 virus, the lifestyle and business system have changed completely around the world. Although the end of several weeks of isolation is soon to come, it is certain that the previous period will affect many segments of life. This is also reflected in the results of a major survey recently conducted by CBS International’s leading real estate consultancy, Cushman & Wakefield Group, on “Traditional Office Vs. Home Office in changing business circumstances. ” The survey involved 250 domestic and international companies from different industries based in Serbia, and the results fully showed how COVID-19 influenced and will affect their further business flow.
The survey confirmed that of all the companies surveyed during the pandemic, only 5 percent work in a full-time office, 69 percent of companies organize work from home for employees, while the rest combines the two.
The data shows that 40 percent of companies see the greatest benefits of working from home in a sense of security and flexible work scheduling, which allows employees to organize daily routines according to their needs. Higher productivity and time savings when traveling to and from work are also very important factors.
On the other hand, while spending time with family is considered an asset, 17 percent of those surveyed said it was a great challenge for them, as different activities and responsibilities with their children resulted in reduced job efficiency. One of the main obstacles in the current mode of work, one third of the respondents pointed out the lack of personal contacts and interaction with colleagues, slower flow of information as well as the lack of face-to-face meetings. Because of this, nearly 50 percent of survey participants have online meetings with colleagues several times a day.
The survey found that more than half of companies would take advantage of the positive aspects of working from home and, after this experience, implement some changes in their team work, some of which would include better organization of time and space, flexible workplaces, the ability to work from home for a couple of days in month, as well as making occasional conference calls instead of meetings.
Companies that plan to implement these changes expect to increase the efficiency of the teams in comparison to the traditional way of working in the office so far, to increase the loyalty of the employees to the company, as well as to attract young educated people who see such benefits in their employment.