Rethinking The Office

RETHINKING THE OFFICE Attitudes Toward Working Remotely In Barbados And The Region

2020 | JULY

Rethinking the Office The office as we know it may be yesterday’s business model. With the mass exodus from office buildings around the world in March, many businesses in the Caribbean have unwittingly realized they can function effectively Working From Home. In June with most of the Caribbean economies reopening for business, we surveyed over 500 office workers across Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia and Trinidad to better understand attitudes towards Working From Home (WFH).

Highlights • • • • • •

Hayden Hutton CCIM, MRICS Chief Operating Officer

An overwhelmingly positive view on Working From Home in the Caribbean.

Barbados and Trinidad seem to lead those attitudes ahead of Grenada and St. Lucia.

Overall 82% have a favorable view One out of two say they are more productive Working From Home.

Current office space could ideally be cut in half by implementing WFH A staggering 97% say companies should adopt some measure of WFH in the longer term.

A REGIONAL VIEW

BARBADOS

GRENADA

ST. LUCIA

TRINIDAD

View working from home positively

84%

79%

75%

88%

Feel they are more productive at home

53%

41%

50%

64%

Why don’t more companies adopt the work from home approach?

Traditional/Old school Culture

Nature of business

55%

Lack of available technology

26%

Other

13%

7%

In the longer term, what is the ideal working environment?

5% 3%

92% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Hybrid (Remote/Physical)

50%

60%

Fully Remote

70%

80%

Fully Physical

90%

100%

THE BARBADOS PERSPECTIVE - Working From Home Primary Challenges

Flexible schedule

59%

Family disruptions

62%

Reduced commute time

57%

Social isolation

41%

Better work/ life balance

41%

39%

Transport cost savings

Keeping a regular schedule

32%

Increased focus & productivity

26%

No dedicated space to work Internet connectivity

Less stress

11%

Other responses

2%

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Other responses

29% 18% 12%

Having the ability to work wherever and whenever is an understandable benefit of WFH. A key hurdle to implementation for some employers will be the measurement of productivity in the remote environment.

Culture Percentage of those that believe corporate culture will be the same or better with a work from home structure.

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Primary Benefits

86% Same or Better

Coaching

Office Space

How effectively can coaching and mentoring be done when working from home?

What percentage could your office space be reduced by in a hybrid or fully work from home scenario?

40%

49%

Somewhat effectively

14% 46% Effectively

Not so effectively

REDUCED

Embracing Working From Home Will companies actually embrace the concept of working from home in the next 12 - 24 months?

0%

10%

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20%

27% 30%

40%

YES

50%

NOT SURE

33% 60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NO

While 97% have a preference for WFH adoption, only 40% think businesses will actually adopt a WFH approach.

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40%

Insights There is a resounding preference for the hybrid model where employees work a few days in the office and a few at home. For those companies that have proven the WFH model, rethinking their existing office footprint and space utlisation will be key. Transitioning permanently to the Distributed Office is not quite so simple as management structures, performance management systems, including considerations for home office stipends, equipment and connectivity costs etc. must all be addressed.

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With social distancing measures in place, lower density requirements in offices will mean most businesses cannot reduce office space for now, even if they wanted to.

It would certainly seem the office market is at an inflection point and we expect rental rates and new supply will plateau, at least initially until the new norm is established. Many are rethinking the concept of the office as more of a hub used by teams for engagement, collaboration and culture building in conjunction with remote working, rather than the place we must go to do our work every day.

Terms & Conditions - These survey results have been published for general information only and are not to be relied upon. Although high standards have been used in the preparation of the information, presented in this report, no responsibility or liability whatsoever can be accepted by Terra Caribbean for any loss or damage resultant from any use of, reliance on or reference to the contents of this document.

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