A Cisco study revealed that 72% of Hong Kong employees believe their offices do not enable them to do their best work.
The study, “From Mandate to Magnet: The Race to Reimagine Workplaces and Workspaces for a Hybrid Future,” revealed that most employees (88%) feel that their office layouts and seating arrangements do not foster collaboration and brainstorming.
Built for individual work
At least half of the offices of 88% of employers surveyed are still built for individual work even though employees feel that individual workstations (71%), large (73%), and small (74%) meeting rooms do not boost in-office productivity.
Employees reported that traditional office set-up have insufficient audio and video endpoints (65%), poor quality of audio-visual experience (58%), and experience inconsistency for remote and in-office participants (25%).
Despite the setbacks, the study found that workers prefer to work in the office for collaboration (70%), brainstorming (72%), and a sense of belongingness (47%).
Office space evolution
Sandeep Mehra, the managing director of Collaboration Sales at Cisco APJC, recognised that employees now embrace a hybrid work set-up.
“In the era of hybrid work, we must prioritise the evolution of our office spaces and technology to meet the needs of employees. Technology has become critical in delivering on these expectations to promote productivity and a collaborative environment – no matter an employee’s location,” says Mehra.
“We need to focus on integrating [technological tools] into the workplace to facilitate a smooth transition to this new work normal and ensure these technologies are accessible and user-friendly for all,” he adds.
