Office Perks in the Era of Work From Home
Recruiting in Software as far back as 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to visit clients in Silicon Valley and marvel at offices filled with in-house perks. I distinctly remember walking through offices with ping pong tables, lunch cafes, and fringe benefits that made offices look and feel more like social venues than bare functional office spaces that I had become accustomed to in my early career in the '90s.
I left the high-tech search in 2007, so it's been a while since I've seen some of the perks firsthand. However, from what I've read, the perks also get more creative. Companies continue to turn to workplace perks to attract employees. Creating rich perks gives candidates a glimpse into the company culture.
Then the Pandemic came along.
I wondered what magnetism these offices maintained with employees becoming accustomed to working from home.
Before the Pandemic, many organizations offered perks to attract and retain employees. So, if extras, in essence, cancel each other out, what is left?
Flexibility
Working from home can increase employees' performance, productivity, and creativity.
In a recent 'Global Work-from-Home Experience Survey,' 73% of employees surveyed say they work successfully from home. However, only 19% of Employees surveyed in North America wanted to say goodbye to the office for good. So, 81% prefer the best of both worlds, the flexibility to work from home, and the ability to go into the office. The future of jobs after the pandemic is a blurry mix of work, life, and Zoom meetings. The number one aspect employees cited was their ability to spend more time with their families (34%). The second was skipping the commute (29%).
Coming out of the Pandemic, employers must look closely at what would work best. How do you offer employees work-life balance while giving them a cool office space to leave the house occasionally? Larger employers will continue to lease space that will only be partially occupied but will likely reduce their number of offices.
Smaller Companies in the Era of Work From Home
Smaller companies will need to look at other options such as shared office spaces, increasing events, and driving virtual contact within the company, instead of sharing an office space, where the cost may be prohibitive.
