How to improve the employee workplace experience

Remote work and working from home have become a normal part of a lot employee’s every day work experience. But just because 2020 saw an abundance of workers forced into more flexible working setups doesn’t mean that every employee enjoys working from home.

In fact, there are some workers who prefer the social atmosphere of an office space, or simply perform better from a dedicated place of work. In short, some people simply prefer to work from an office—and you shouldn’t forget about them. Here's how to make your office ready for a good employee workplace experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a lot of changes into workplaces. Not only were many employees forced to work from home, but we have also seen a massive increase of virtual meetings, and, quite frankly, meetings in general. What was once discussed in passing in the office space now has to be talked about in dedicated meeting times.

But with some employees heading back into the office more regularly now, some teams struggle to adapt their new meeting routine once again to meet everyone’s needs, in-office and remote.

Another problem many companies are facing is split teams, with half of the employees working from home, and the other half coming into the office. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does hold a lot of potential for conflict, with information not getting shared among all team members, or unclear expectations around working hours and response times. 

Finally, with less people working in the office than pre-pandemic, you might also need to have a look at your office design and setup to increase the in-office employee’s overall work experience.

Here are a few tips on how you can improve the workplace experience for employees who choose to work in the office.

Get feedback from your employees

The very first thing you should do is gather your employees and ask them how their work experience could be improved. This is best done in a survey that allows them to rate their overall satisfaction level as well as give input on what could be improved in their opinion.

This initial audit is a great starting place to see where you stand in terms of employee happiness, and to identify the next steps to take on your journey to a better workplace experience.

Encourage collaboration across different teams

One of the biggest reasons for employees to work from an office space is the social factor of interacting with their peers. So why not leverage this motivation to encourage more team collaboration?

Putting together new interdisciplinary teams not only allows your in-office employees to socialise more frequently, but it is also more efficient and can create helpful synergies that might lead to better performance results. On top of that, working together as a team is a great way to build team spirit and a sense of community.

Rethink your office layout

Chances are, not all of your employees will be in the office all the time - or at least not at the same time. Some people may choose to stay at home for a couple of days a week, while others prefer an alternating weekly roster of coming in and working from home. Whatever your case may be, you probably have some unused office space at hand.

Rethinking your office layout and interior design is a great way to enhance your employee’s workplace experience. Why not set up a few flexible working stations instead of permanent desks, so that your in-office employees get to enjoy more space? In addition to that, rethinking your office floor plan is an opportunity to bring teams closer together, or move workers from different teams who choose to work in the office next to each other.

The best of both worlds

Finally, you should not forget about the things employees do love about working from home, such as a generally more quiet working environment, which is beneficial for performing complicated tasks or making phone calls. 

By creating dedicated office areas your employees can escape to to perform the tasks they enjoy most doing from home, you have a huge chance of increasing their overall workplace experience. 

This can be a soundproof meeting room to fully focus on the work at hand, or offering exercise classes during lunch break to help your in-office employees to use their work days as efficiently as they would back home.