Gensler Remote Work Survey

When China decided to embark on the world’s largest work-from-home experiment, where hundreds of millions of workers stayed home from the office, Gensler, like many other companies, launched a survey to determine what was working for their staff. As a company that designs offices and has a deep understanding of the requirements of a workplace, the results were fascinating. So what did we find out?

1｜Does remote working make us less efficient? NO！

According to the survey, most respondents knew what they were required to do day-to-day. While a few noted that they were more easily distracted, 22% of staff reported that “there is more flexibility in deciding where and when to work” and 15% saying they feel more focused.

Based on these responses, we have summarized four major factors that affect work efficiency:
(1) work motivation
(2) technology support
(3) company intranet
(4) communication tools

2｜How do leaders feel about remote working?

Compared to other staff, leaders feel a greater change yet less stress when working remotely. Some leaders say that remote working presents some challenges when understanding team members’ working conditions.

3｜More Work-Life balance?

Overall, employees believe that working remotely better promotes a balance between life and work and helps maintain a healthy lifestyle. They have more time to spend with their families, take care of the family, cook their own meals and exercise regularly, But some employees also responded that working remotely blurred the line between work and life and extended working hours.

4｜What are the pain points of working remotely?

Although the respondents have a positive attitude towards remote working, we still face some challenges.

Impact on communication and collaboration.

It’s challenging to conduct brainstorming and exchange opinions on design，spontaneous creative discussion is more challenging.

Sometimes people get distracted by multiple communications tools.

Some times team leaders find it hard to understand their teams’ work status.

Lack of efficient technology, office equipment support.

There is a direct correlation with people’s satisfaction working from home and their ability to access the company VPN/server. Often these issues are caused by their internet connectivity.

Communication tools lack proper support for real-time discussion and file sharing.

Need materials simples/ printer/ pens and pencil / Large screens and other office equipment to support working.

Changes in the physical/social environment have caused some annoyance.

Distractions are caused by other family members and household errands.

Not having a proper workplace and ergonomic furniture causes frustration.

Working from home makes people feel less connected to their colleagues and the company, less socializing may affect their mental health.

5｜Possible Solutions

Develop daily team meetings; set up regular communication time, and focus time for people to do productive work.

Establish a workflow for file sharing, ideally reducing conversation-based communication.

We will provide a full report in our next post with more recommended solutions. Please follow us on WeChat.

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