In the two years since Covid-19 upended our lives, it has changed the way we work, and as organisations chart their roadmap for a post-pandemic work model, enterprises must relook at their workforce, workspace, and the workplace.  The new workplace is both online and offline, distributed and multilocational. The new workforce carries new beliefs demanding new policies and expects a more supportive work environment to be flexible and creative. The modern workspace must facilitate collaboration and productivity while delivering a superior experience. 

As a recent research report, ‘A Workplace That Works’, revealed, more than 80 per cent of the organisations are underway on their workplace transformation journey. In addition to using technology and digital tools, businesses will also need to redefine processes and policies for the transformation to take effect. To understand how enterprises can redesign work for a hybrid environment, we need to look at it through the three intertwined dimensions of work and how they interact with each other.

The workforce and their priorities are evolving faster than ever: This shift in expectations is one of the many trends reshaping the workforce. Employees today come from diverse backgrounds and work across borders. These are individuals managing work and personal lives through the most trying times of our generation. The new environment has led to modified behaviors, patterns, and priorities that directly impact their acceptance of and expectations from technology.

The presence of diverse talent that includes Gen X, Y, Z, millennials, and digital natives implies different work styles, attention-spans, need for well-being, and more. The attitudinal and behavioral traits of the new workforce also have a considerable bearing on the future of work.

As per a recent Gartner survey, 75 per cent of employees in a hybrid work arrangement expect flexibility. Going forward, work flexibility would be a make-or-break deal for 55 per cent of the employees surveyed.

People are at the heart of any workplace transformation, and a diverse and multigenerational workforce makes it complicated. The future of work will depend on how well enterprises can deliver the capabilities and policies that meet the needs of the workforce.

The workplace orientation is shifting towards effectiveness and creativity: A workplace used to be a distinct physical location but, in a hybrid, and distributed work environment, the distinction between office and home has vanished. In a post-remote-working world, the workplace has become a network of work locations.

The proliferation of connectivity and devices used for work have normalised ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) across industries, bringing in the challenges of access and security that were easier to manage earlier with enterprise IT residing within a premise.

On the enterprise side, increased ‘sensorisation’ has led to the widespread application of operational technology. The software and applications environment has changed completely. Technologies like cloud, AR/VR, and 5G can bring together the physical and digital worlds in a secure environment.

Thus, it has become critical to focus on building a human-centric workplace that offers flexibility, opportunities for collaboration and is driven by empathy. Business leaders must invest in identifying behaviors that yield productivity and leverage cultural nuances to create a conducive environment for efficiency.

The hybrid workspace needs to deliver a superior employee experience: A recent Infosys report found that 68 per cent of business leaders believe that “enhanced employee experience” is a top benefit of HR transformation. While the specifics may vary based on the nature of the job, what doesn’t vary is the need for workspaces that offer a standardised experience and enables productivity. In a hybrid world where devices have become the workspace, this could be at the office, home, or wherever the employee is.

Remote workers also wear multiple personas throughout the day — related to work and personal lives. In such a scenario, workspaces need to be designed so that they can be personalised to suit the needs of each persona. For example, doctors perform several tasks in a day — interacting with patients, accessing medical records, or performing administrative tasks — all of it in possibly different locations. So, they would prefer a workspace that is multifunctional and supports the different personas and works on the move.

Ensuring a smooth and seamless workflow for the employees is a critical outcome of any workplace transformation. The challenge for companies is to create a space and a seamless experience wherever the work is happening. This is what makes the assessment of the need for technology and the provision of the right tools pivotal to starting a journey into the future of work.

To stay relevant and attract top talent, enterprises need to act with urgency as they adapt to the new future of work. With policies as facilitators and technology as an enabler, enterprises across industries have an opportunity to accelerate their workplace transformation journey. How the hybrid future of work shapes up in a multi-dimensional world depends on how well organisations can redesign their workplaces and workspaces for a workforce of tomorrow.  

The writer is Vice President, Global Practice Head for Microsoft Business Applications & Digital Workplace Services, Infosys

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