RETHINKING THE OFFICE Attitudes Toward Working Remotely In Trinidad And The Region
2020 | JULY
Rethinking the Office With the phased reopening of most countries in June 2020, post COVID-19, staff has expressed their willingness to continue working from home. Therefore, in an effort to understand how working remotely has changed attitudes of office employees, the Terra Caribbean Group built and circulated an attitudes survey in their host countries; Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.
Highlights In Trinidad, the general attitude to the concept of working remotely was positive with 65% feeling more productive at home. • According to respondents, office space can be reduced by 47% in a work from home scenario. • However, our respondents said that the main hurdle in implementing some measure of virtual working is the traditional/old school culture. •
Jean-Paul de Meillac Chief Executive Officer
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%
65%
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 TRINIDAD PERSPECTIVE - Working From Home Primary Challenges
Reduced commute time
78%
Family disruptions
65%
Flexible schedule
54%
34%
Better work/ life balance
Keeping a regular schedule
48%
Social isolation
32%
Transport cost savings
27%
Increased focus & productivity
23%
No dedicated space to work Internet connectivity
Less stress
14%
Other responses
3%
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Other responses
31% 20% 16%
Not surprisingly, reduced commute time and flexible schedule were ranked highest as benefits while family disruptions and keeping a regular schedule were seen as the biggest challenges.
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
81% 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?
37%
47%
Somewhat effectively
17% 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%
{
20%
30% 30%
40%
YES
50%
NOT SURE
60%
27% 70%
80%
90%
100%
NO
43% think that companies will actually embrace the concept of working remotely in the future while 57% do not think companies will adopt the concept or are simply “not sure.�
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43%
Insights The survey, which targeted office employees, uncovered a few facts about the shifting paradigm of virtual work versus working in an office. The results, while not surprising, exposed the domino effect on the labour force, possibly commercial office space, and consequently rental rates and market pricing of commercial real estate. In the Trinidad Market, our respondents originated from the Banking/Finance/Insurance industry (20%) and other Professional Services, such as Accounting/Legal, the Energy Sector, Advertising and Media, Sales & Distribution, Real Estate services and Telecommunications industries.
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The results exposed the effect on the labour force, possibly commercial office space, and consequently rental rates and market pricing of commercial real estate.
Many respondents were generally in favour of working from home, but in Trinidad approximately 67% believe that the work from home concept will not be adopted due to a traditional/old school culture. However, corporate tenants are taking into consideration how employees will interact within a workspace. Therefore, instead of an office rental being a top-line decision, it is now a company-wide decision that affects all employees, which has never happened before.
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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