But just because some workers are frustrated doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re ready to return to the office just yet. In Asia, employees say their expectations and needs when it comes to work space designs, safety, and culture have shifted significantly in the wake of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1624373345\/www.steelcase.com\/asia-en\/2021\/06\/22\/21-0155954.jpg\")
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More face time<\/strong><\/p>\n Wendy Min, the director of international affairs at Trip.com in Shanghai, welcomed the return to her workplace in October of last year. Although her office never fully closed its doors \u2013 but rather, limited the number of employees allowed on site at once \u2013 she spent six months working remotely in 2020.<\/p>\n Min says she found the experience isolating \u2013 one of the chief complaints about work from home arrangements, according to Steelcase research. Most offices in Shanghai have been back to business as usual since late March 2020. Although her \u201ccolorful and collaborative\u201d office has not changed in terms of design since the pandemic began, Min says many in-person meetings have been replaced by Zoom, WeChat and email.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing that really affected us is the context for global events as everything has moved online. It\u2019s very digitized now,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n For Min, the broad-scale transition to virtual collaboration represents a loss of valuable interaction. In the future, she hopes to see a return to in-person events and meetings, which can help to build relationships, streamline communications and promote collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cI think face-to-face meetings are always better. A lot of things are lost without that up-close and personal communication.\u201d<\/p>Wendy Min,Director of International Affairs, Trip.com<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n Flexibility will be key<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t want to work from home 100 percent of the time. I feel like face-to-face contact has its benefit in terms of getting collaborative work done.\u201d But for solo tasks, she prefers to work in a quiet, undisturbed environment.<\/p>\n \u201cI am looking forward to an arrangement where we\u2019re back in the office for a part of the week, and work from home the rest.\u201d<\/p>Denise(last name and title withheld for privacy reasons)<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n Denise is not alone. Min in Shanghai says she is also open to a hybrid model of \u201chome and office\u201d time, like many respondents surveyed for Steelcase\u2019s report. The majority of people surveyed said they expected to be able to work from home after the pandemic, with 72 percent preferring a mix of remote and office work.<\/p>\n Only 23 percent said they would like to return to the office fulltime \u2013 and they may get their wish: a sizeable 87 percent of business leaders around the world reported that they will allow more flexible work arrangements when offices reopen.<\/p>\n Flexible schedules are just part of the issue though, says Denise. Designing workspaces to allow for different types of work \u2013 collaborative or quiet \u2013 is also important. She hopes to see more office environments that allow employees to carry out focused work in quiet zones, moving away from an entirely open-plan \u2013<\/p>\n A safer workplace<\/strong> Concerns over air quality, safety protocols and cleanliness are the most common apprehensions that people have about returning to the workplace, according to Steelcase research.<\/p>\n For Arlo Poetiray, the head of Art and Production at GCM Group, a media group in Jakarta, the country\u2019s long battle with the novel coronavirus has made him vigilant about sanitization, even as his office reopens and employees are regularly tested.<\/p>\n \u201cI think looking ahead, our office must have consistent environmental health policies, like fogging [a process of decontamination for areas exposed to airborne pathogens and Denise says she will have similar reservations about the air quality in her workplace in Singapore, when she is finally able to return to the office. \u201cVentilation is definitely something I will think about in the future, especially in Singapore where everything is air-conditioned,\u201d she says. \u201cI will want to know what my company is doing about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Creating a safe yet social, structured yet flexible environment remains an integral part of any successful workplace that is valued by its employees in the future, even as they desire more control over how and where they work.<\/p>\n In just over a year and a half, COVID-19 has rewritten the rules of how we behave. From schools, hospitals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13913,"featured_media":50950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"topic":[2294,14324,13490],"class_list":["post-50949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-collaboration","topic-culture-talent","topic-hybrid-work"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1624373892\/www.steelcase.com\/asia-en\/2021\/06\/22\/21-0156958.jpg\")
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\nIn Singapore, Denise* started working in the communications department of an international bank working in the middle of the pandemic. She\u2019s had the unique experience of starting a new role while offices were still closed under lockdown, and has primarily been working from home since she joined in April 2020, although she has visited the office a few times as rules have relaxed.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/images.steelcase.com\/image\/upload\/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_70,h_1024,w_1024\/v1624374134\/www.steelcase.com\/asia-en\/2021\/06\/22\/21-0155185_Masks.jpg\")
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\nLife under COVID-19 has brought renewed focus on the importance of hygiene and sanitization standards, particularly in large office spaces where potentially thousands of employees will frequent elevators, washrooms, hallways and meeting rooms every day.<\/p>\n
\nviruses] and disinfectant, as well as more space to allow for safer distance between colleagues. Of course, we\u2019ll also need precautionary protection like masks and hand sanitizer at each table and working space,\u201d says Poetriray, who has worked from home since June 2020.<\/p>\nKeen to learn how to future-proof your office? Read the full report here<\/a>.
\n*Last name withheld for privacy reasons.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"