Back to office ... or Not?

For nearly 18 months many people have been working from home and remote working, for many businesses as the country, returns to normal there is now the decision to make of what to do next and lots of considerations to be balanced:

• Staff interaction - not everyone wants to work from home, they miss having a workplace and people to interact and work with - that sense of team of people being in one place is something that they crave.

• Staff wellbeing - for many the thought of returning to "normal" is a scary one from the crowded commute to a busy workplace.

• Sickness - people just haven't been around people for so long that there will inevitably be more colds etc when people are back in close proximity. Reviewing policies for sickness reporting and whether as a business you want to encourage staff to work from home if they are ill but also ensuring that they take time off if they are ill too.

• Cost - having an office space isn't a cheap option for businesses, if you are looking to move to a mixed working style with some days in the office and some days working from home then work out how much space you actually need. Many businesses are having different teams in on different days meaning that they don't need the number of desks or the level of space that was required before, this gives the option to downsize in space and the cash saved.

What are you doing in your business? I would love to hear how businesses are adapting to the new ways of working.