The Office “is over”

Traditional work spaces are evolving but what does this mean for the future of work itself?

As the world shifts to remote work, the office as we know it; is over. Tasks have become digital and platforms like zoom are the go-to places for team meetings. Commuting to work, known to be a major joy-killer - has been eliminated. People are able to choose their own working hours and schedule their day accordingly and Collab Therapy is helping you in this process. However, there are some key activities and benefits that cannot be replaced by this WFH wave:

In-person Collaborations

Physical meetings are key to effective and efficient problem-solving. In-person brainstorming helps multiply the creative energy allowing for better ideas to be generated. Being in the physical space with your coworkers helps maintain focus and encourages you to work towards a common goal.

Great learning happens through short but frequent informal conversations with people working with you. Unique mindsets and opinions are heard and discussed. All of it in the spirit of spontaneity in a physical workspace. A WFH setup, however, requires each interaction to be scheduled in advance. This added effort can sometimes eliminate the joy of spontaneity, making people less likely to ask questions or participate effectively during meetings. Brainstorming in person with your creative team helps move projects forward. A sudden discussion with a fellow co-worker could lead to an entirely new solution for something you’ve been working on. One might not miss those moments when they working remotely but they indeed have a positive impact on your individual success. While several benefits exist for the employees, making them more productive; the organization is at an advantage too as better work leads to higher revenues. The ability to collaborate freely and socialize increases job satisfaction.

Tangible Product Design and Development

With the switch to screens and introduction to the metaverse, most products have become digital. UI/UX designers are in demand and almost every new startup is building an app. The pandemic, however, has shown us new problems that require tangible solutions. Face shields, WFH furniture, medical equipment and much more. While apps are made on-screen, tangible products are made hands-on. After numerous iterations of thumbnails, study models, and prototypes; is a tangible product ready to go to market. A long process indeed, and even longer if you lack access to basic resources such as machinery, tools and digital fabrication support. Building something physical is a team effort and no team activity can be at maximum efficiency through remote work.

Community growth and engagement

A strong community contributes to fulfilment and happiness in the workspace. The sense of belonging—feeling connected, and united comes from a shared space and social identity that often comes with your team at work. Meeting people face to face also helps build better friendships and connections that can last for a long time off the work-life too. Your workspace can be a place for immense individual growth through in-person learnings from experienced co-workers. This process is further enhanced if everyone is present under one roof and can benefit from spontaneous engagements between them. As humans, it is natural to crave connections and have a sense of belonging. These desires are often most rewarding while sharing a common goal and working towards it.

Health and Wellbeing

Social wellbeing is an important part of mental health. Irrespective of whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, one’s need for connections with others always exists. Research has demonstrated that a lack of time face-to-face, results in a decline in well-being, an increase in diseases and a reduction in lifespans. While technology helps us connect, it is inadequate as it restricts us from reading the nonverbal cues of a person. For some, being on camera can also be a source of anxiety making them conscious thus creating intensity in the workday which can be exhausting. Being present together in the office can also help reduce tech fatigue and is critical to our physical and emotional health.

Effective Networking

Networking improves when present in the physical vicinity of the person you’re interacting with. People are more likely to respond and converse when approached in-person versus online via text or email. Not only does this increase chances for an actual conversation but also opens up a new realm of opportunities that one might not even be aware of otherwise. Needless to say, in-person networking is extremely fast, efficient and conclusive. On one hand where texts and emails take their own sweet time, in-person meetings can be comparatively faster as responses are instant and decision making is required.

Creative Culture

Being together tends to make us all more creative. Researchers have concluded that when people spent more time talking, socializing and connecting with others, their mental functions improved. Interactions led to a direct increase in cognitive performance. It was concluded that this is because of the mental processes involved in listening, empathizing, thinking and responding; which are elements of a discussion or conversation. You and your team's creative performance is also likely to be positively impacted. Creative productivity doubles when teams work and brainstorm together in dedicated rooms. People in physical proximity are three times as collaborative and see a greater creative output. Additionally, the positive performance has a spillover effect in which good performance by a team member leads to good performance by other co-workers too.

Welcome to Collab Therapy

While all offices turn remote, the only reason to come back for physical work is high-value collaborations. These collaborations may include multiple stakeholders including managers, employees, clients, customers, etc. While co-working spaces are suitable for verbal meetings and screen work, they are ill-equipped to provide resources for tangible idea building.

With all resources available under one roof, our Co-design space is like a collaboration hub for idea development and execution with the help of multiple stakeholders. Consider our space as your walk-in design studio equipped with facilities; to help you take your designs from sketch to prototype and further. A one-stop idea-to-execution ecosystem, Collab Therapy brings you all resources at single-point access, to Design, Develop, Prototype, Test, Fabricate and Seed your ideas!