The state of hybrid home-offices

We are at a time where offices are being outfitted as homes and homes as offices. Commercial Design takes a look at the changing interior landscapes of our hybrid spaces

COVID-19 may still be spreading around the globe and disrupting many lives, but in some ways, many of us have come to tolerate the pandemic and found new ways to live alongside it. Companies have had to adapt and evolve, especially when there are many financial aspects to consider. Though WFH was initiated as a temporary measure, many companies are planning to adapt it on a large scale. More people than ever now work from home as a result of the pandemic and for many of them this has become a permanent shift. On the other hand, the employees themselves seem to have more than embraced this new norm. The lockdown has freed them from the everyday battle with traffic, time-consuming commute, fear of pay-cuts for being five minutes late, overtime and late-nights at work, disruption of family time, etc. Vikas Chawla, Director, Global Site Operations, Adobe, aptly states that, “One question that employees are now starting to ask is ‘What is the need to come back to office again, if we are working productively from home itself?’ Why would they spend two to three wasted in commuting back and forth from office? Many employers and employees have already got accustomed to the idea of WFH being a permanent solution. A minimum of 30% of staff will continue to WFH even after normalcy resumes.” Hence, this shift has necessitated a rethinking of how home offices are designed and furnished.

WFH-compatible furniture