Briefing

When it comes to the way we work, the data is clear: the future of work resembles a different beast entirely from the one that it was in 2019. The events of the past year-and-a-half have been largely responsible, leading to a global work experiment that we’ve all participated in. Our findings? Hybrid strategies are the way forward.

The modern workforce wants Flexibility

Hybrid ways of working revolve around arrangements that combine remote and in-office work, facilitated by technology. The exact ratios of office and work-from-anywhere time vary from company to company, but the essence is the same, and for most companies, so are the outcomes. The data indicates that hybrid strategies contribute to engagement and productivity – and that most people prefer working this way. Just 15 percent of Southeast Asian respondents to the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey said they want to work from the office full time. Seven in 10 respondents, meanwhile, believe that hybrid work arrangements encourage productivity and creativity.

Similarly, a 2021 Willis Towers Watson survey of employers in the APAC region found that 62% of employers identify flexible work arrangements as a priority; one that could boost the employee experience.

Hybrid arrangements benefit both employers and employees

For employees, flexible working arrangements improve the overall experience of work for a host of reasons. If they’re able to work when, where and how they want, it puts the power back in their hands. With autonomy, people feel more excited about work. Studies have shown that greater engagement can improve presenteeism rates. And, if people work when they want, they’re more likely to focus when they do work

Co-working at The Great Room supports flexibility, bolstering business operations and corporate culture

The ideal alternative, then, is a coworking space like The Great Room in Singapore. Here, flexibility has been a key aspect of the modus operandi right from the start. Companies are increasingly realising that coworking spaces provide an effective solution to the demands of the new working environment – and the desires of the modern worker. For organisations in flux – which is every organisations in today’s world – the coworking space facilitates agility.

When a company expands, a coworking space has desks at the ready. When fewer people are in the office – whether due to a pandemic scenario that requires remote work, or because of reduced staffing needs – a coworking space enables you to scale down in a flash, minus fit-out costs, and without incurring the penalties that come when you break an office lease.

Plus, the coworking environment facilitates sharing of resources. You no longer need to fork out for multiple printers, staplers, water coolers, dedicated front desk staff – these are all at your fingertips, courtesy of your coworking provider. The financial benefits are therefore apparent straight away, as well as in the long-term. (For boutique businesses, for example, the financial benefits of choosing a coworking space are significant: they report savings of 25 percent a year.)

For employees, one of the core benefits of a coworking space – and indeed, one of the central tenets of the coworking movement – is community. At The Great Room, for example, there’s a mix of SMEs, established global organisations, solopreneurs and freelancers. All of whom can come together in the coworking space provider’s ‘great room’, a luxe yet comfortable living room-style communal space designed to foster connection, new conversations, new ideas… and a sense of belonging.

While a coworking space offers greatly enhanced opportunities for connection, it also provides privacy benefits on par with those you would find in a traditional single-business office. Coworking spaces are primed to answer confidentiality and security requirements: all you have to do is ask for what you need. At the same time, coworking environments steer away from the pitfalls of the traditional office. Naturally flexible, coworking is the antithesis of rigidity: no more fixed locations, fixed desks or fixed hours. And, since you’re no longer limited to interacting with a small, fixed pool of colleagues, you’re less likely to grapple with groupthink (coming to a consensus just to avoid dissent) or office politics.

By saving companies time and money, and by fostering engagement and productivity, coworking spaces solve a whole host of workplace problems. And, by supporting hybrid working strategies, coworking demonstrates its staying power in the brave new world of work.

The Great Room has seven locations across Asia’s gateway cities. All are located in prime neighbourhoods, with a range of flexible options available for businesses keen to grow but struggling to figure out how to do so. The Great Room’s expert staff are also on hand to provide advice on how to customise your workspace to suit your business needs.

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Find out how we can help your business adapt to the flexible future of work.
Select the city below for more details.

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Move over WFH: it’s all about WFA now. WFA, if you’re not familiar with this increasingly pervasive acronym, stands for work from anywhere.

As KPMG points out in embedding new ways of working, the pandemic has demonstrated on a global level that many jobs can be done from anywhere. With technology as an enabler, remote work – which was on the rise anyway – suddenly became the status quo. As many as 25 to 30% of the world’s workforce will be working remotely by the end of 2021, says Global Workplace Analytics. 

REMOTE WORK 2.0 

Remote work used to mean working from home, or potentially your hotel room if you were travelling, but it’s evolved beyond that to working from anywhere. The reason being that WFH is limiting. The new reality of work in 2021 is not binary: it’s not office or home. That ‘anywhere’ could be your own home if that’s where you want to work, but it could also be a cafe. It could be a co-working space, your friend’s house, a park, the waiting room at the dentist… anywhere really.

But when it comes to home, there are distractions – social media being one of the biggest – along with the potential for drops in productivity and motivation. 

As for cafes, they may offer more space, an attractive setting and a chance to interact with other people, not to mention ready access to food and tea and coffee. There are drawbacks, however. Unstable wi-fi, the potential for noise that interferes with your ability to focus; whether that’s from overall chatter and cooking noises, or the loud conversation the people at the table next to you are having. 

WORK FROM ANYWHERE, ELEVATED 

Enter the co-working space. With dedicated desks and offices, shared workspaces are an ideal bridge between the traditional corporate office and working from home. There’s also the opportunity to interact with like-minded individuals and businesses in an environment where everyone else is doing the same thing: working… and not looking at social media. 

ACTIVITY-BASED WFA

At The Great Room, which has inspiring shared workspaces in Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong, that ability to work uninterrupted is amplified by the fact that there are different spaces for different work needs. Head to the Workhall at your venue of choice, where there are desks aplenty when you need to get into the zone and do deep work. Or book a private office if you need privacy by purchasing ; just buy a Day Pass or monthly Hot Desk packages via The Great Room’s online stores in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

Need to have a casual chat with someone in your industry? Sit on the sofas and enjoy artisanal coffee in the expansive Drawing Room, the luxuriously appointed space that is the heart of every great room. Have to meet a client? Book one of the leather, wood and marble-clad meeting rooms. If you’re visiting a client at their offices, head to your nearest The Great Room location afterwards. This is activity-based work-from-anywhere at its finest – a far cry from the sofa, the bed or the dining table… and the kids. 

The activity-based work model is driven by the idea that people will be more productive if they can move between various settings that cater to the nature of the work they’re doing at that particular moment in time. Giving workers the power to choose where, how and when they work is also hugely empowering.

THE POWER OF CHOICE 

In Singapore, The Great Room takes activity-based working goes a step further. Here, you have four locations to choose from, and a fifth on the way. There’s prestigious One George Street, in the heart of the CBD, right near Raffles Place, Clarke Quay and Chinatown MRT. Then there’s Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road, which has a cool bar and a fun, dynamic vibe. Centennial Tower, on the Marina Centre-side of the CBD, is our tech hub; whilst Raffles Arcade, right next to historic hotel Raffles Singapore, is the co-working space of choice for creatives. 

Each Singapore co-working location has been designed individually; each has a different style and a different vibe. Move between them depending on your mood, or your working needs. 

In other parts of Asia, you will find a two-floor, light-filled The Great Room in Bangkok’s Gaysorn Tower, right next to Chidlom BTS; and another in Hong Kong’s One Taikoo Place, a state-of-the-art sustainably minded and Grade-A office tower in entertainment and work precinct Quarry Bay. 

With such chic and forward-thinking destinations to choose from, why limit yourself to working from home when you can work anywhere? Start your WFA journey with a Day Pass for any of The Great Room’s shared workspaces in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok via The Great Room’s online stores.