Jarrod McGrath
Do your people say ‘we’ or ‘they’ when talking about their job? Gone are the days of a corner office in the ivory tower, an expense account and the secretary that brings fresh pastries and coffee just the way you like it every morning. Now it is time to rethink and restructure office culture with new sets of employee well-being and recreation policies
Organisational culture
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hat makes people tick and stick around in the workplace has changed since the pandemic. The long known traditional office culture is now ancient history. Even financial compensation itself – the rule of thumb in economic theory that is outdated and heavily relied upon – is just one element of what people seek from their workplaces in 2021. Today, people prioritise flexibility, social interaction, collaboration, and overall deeper meaning from their jobs. It is more so for Asia, where only 7% of the workforce is willing to commit to an absolute onsite work arrangement. The majority of Asian employees expressed a preference for a hybrid working model, with two to three days of remote working weekly. We’ve been pushed to completely restructure the workplace. It is no longer a physical place, rather, it’s simply an environment that empowers people to do their best work and influences the way they feel at work. Employers’ first consideration now is to tap into prevailing trends and shifts in atti-
tudes to create a feedback loop about those feelings—and the second consideration is to take ownership of those feelings in how the business operates.
Flexibility is no longer just a defining factor – it’s a prerequisite Technology vendors and recruiters are highlighting the importance of workplace flexibility, and more companies in Asia are allowing their employees to work from anywhere indefinitely, positioning it as an “employee perk”. However, that’s is just a prerequi-
september 2021 |
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