54 VISION & STRATEGY The ongoing battle between remote and office work. In 2023, the future of remote and flexible work is expected to continue to evolve. According to Michael Queenan, CEO and Co-Founder of Nephos Technologies, “the battle between remote and office working will continue into 2023 and beyond. As the recession deepens and inflation and salary expectations rise, business leaders will make cuts simply to stay afloat. Whilst it has been a candidate’s market over the past 12 months, we will start to see this change as businesses slow down their recruiting efforts. Business leaders and employees must find common ground, balancing salary expectations and flexibility.” Katie Kulikoski, Chief People Officer at Progress, notes that “the workforce has undergone a tremendous transformation over the past couple of years,” with a focus on stabilisation and peoplecentric enablement in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Kulikoski expects that “companies will keep widening this duty of care, differentiating themselves to retain key talent by taking an even more human-centric approach to leadership and management.” She adds, “there will be a continued push of the boundaries on how and where people work and a natural tension between employee and employer preferences.” Kulikoski predicts that “the pendulum will come back to the middle eventually with people getting more comfortable coming together to use the workspaces available to them,” but notes that the expectation of human-centric design in workforce accommodation and people’s working preferences is unlikely to return to pre-2019 styles. In addition, the impact of the recession on attrition is expected to challenge organisations to continue to innovate in how and where they engage their employees. Overall, the future of remote and flexible work is expected to continue to evolve this year, so businesses will need to adapt to changing circumstances and find a balance between employee and employer preferences. The employee vs their workspace. As employees and companies alike choose between remote, hybrid, or in-office, one thing that will grow in importance is ensuring that wherever the workspace is, it needs to be human-centric. According to Richard Guy, County Sales Manager at Ergotron, ‘just when managers thought looking after their teams couldn’t get any more challenging, increasing economic uncertainty is going to make things even more complex, as employee well-being and the ‘human touch’ will skyrocket in importance. We are already hearing about financial pressures resulting in many workers returning to the office full time or adopting a hybrid working arrangement, rather than being fully remote.’ This shift towards a greater focus on employee wellbeing and the ‘human touch’ in the workplace is likely to have a significant impact on the future of office design. As Guy notes, ‘employees will prioritise the way they are looked after in their workspaces when choosing an employer, and these changing expectations will drive the future of office design.’ To meet the changing expectations of their employees, employers will need to invest in equipment and furniture that fits ergonomically with the technologies we all use every day - such as desks, monitor mounts, and chairs - and flexible working practices. Guy emphasises the importance of ergonomics, stating that ‘while posture may seem like a detail, it can have amassive influence onworker happiness and productivity.’
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