South African employees could be missing out the immense benefits of the growing global trend of working from home, according to findings of a recent research conducted by office design firm Paragon Interiors.
Lucy le Roux, marketing manager for office design firm Paragon Interiors, says: “To state the matter simply, the modern nine-to-five office is evolving into a system where what you achieve is valued far higher than where or how you work to achieve it. This trend has been driven by high office rentals and traffic congestion in major global cities, advances in technology and an increasing number of self-managed knowledge workers in the workforce. “
When looking at other factors which create a demand for mobile working, traffic congestion is a growing concern with around 65% of employees spending anywhere between 1 – 2 hours or more commuting to and from work each day. Employee dissatisfaction rates with the availability of parking was 48%.
After a long commute to work for most – employees still need to battle it out for parking when they get to the office. “At the moment however, it seems that these factors don’t appear to be concerning enough for the majority of staff to be interested in a mobile working option.”
“This ‘new way of working’ could assist South African organisations in overcoming some of the challenges presented to them on a daily basis. Mobile working could ensure better staff wellness, lower workplace densities, a lowering of real estate costs as well as ensuring that the office premises (including parking) remains suitable for the duration of the lease period despite possible expansion, says Bill Helyar, operations director of Paragon Interiors.