Ricoh has researched how our evolving world of work has forced businesses to address digital transformation, look at reengineering workplaces both virtually and physically, develop new processes to support this and how all this combined has influenced and resulted in new workplace behaviours.
We surveyed 304 managers and 1001 employees of businesses that once functioned through the use of a traditional office. Our respondents included a blend of people working from home or a remote location, people working from the office and people who are doing a mix of both. Our goal was simple: to understand how changing cultural, physical and technological environments have impacted the way people work and the wider impact that this is having.
Working with leading clinical psychologist Emma Kenny, we analysed key findings from our research to form an opinion around how businesses and their employees are coping with working in a pandemic world, looking at synergies and disconnects with a view to helping businesses better make sense of the changing workplace.
What the research told us is that, whether working from home or in an office environment, both managers (39% at home and 45% in the office) and employees (31% at home and 13% in the office) are feeling unhappy and unproductive largely due to technology issues, confusion over and time spent on new processes, and because of the pressures around a changing work environment.
Managers tend to struggle with the technology demands of a work from home set-up, with 41% reporting concerns compared with just 26% who went back to the office. Employees are slightly less daunted, with 46% reporting no issues at all from home.
In a world that has seen productivity levels significantly fall, how can businesses address these concerns and work towards achieving a conscious workplace, an environment where people are happy, motivated, productive and thriving?
In this report we explore how people are coping with working in a pandemic world and how core fundamentals such as technology, processes and the working environment are starting to influence new behaviours. Only by achieving a balance, businesses can work towards economic recovery.
