Workers are Returning to the Office in Central Florida After the Pandemic

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, commercial real estate has undergone a transformation. The industry is changing as more workers return to their office buildings in Central Florida. Commercial real estate is an important industry in Florida and throughout the country. It contributes to job creation and economic growth by assisting businesses and providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive.

As companies transition back to the office, they are taking a closer look at how they can make the most of their physical space, including greater emphasis on efficiency. Many offices now offering flexible working options, this trend is expected to have a major impact on commercial real estate in 2023, as businesses seek to make the most of their physical presence. 

Many businesses have been unsure about what to do with their staff following the pandemic. While some companies have been more lenient in allowing employees back into the office, others have been more cautious. These businesses may require accommodations of their employees and also might need to make changes to the work space.

According to Kastle Systems, a data property management and security firm that tracks key-card entries, each week more and more workers went into the office than since the pandemic started. While office attendance isn’t where it was before the pandemic, it’s getting there.

What are the challenges faced by people who return to the office?

Is your office returning to normal operations? It’s a question that many are asking right now. As the pandemic continues to ravage the world, offices in Central Florida are all returning to work—but what does that mean for workers?

Bringing employees back into the office will bring about some unique challenges for businesses. Not only must they ensure that workplaces meet certain hygiene and safety levels, but they also create an environment that serves the needs of those who have become so accustomed to and comfortable working from home.

One of the major challenges is maintaining a healthy work/life balance. To ensure this is achieved, companies will need to make sure there are adequate spaces for collaboration as well as quiet areas for focused work. When possible, offer employees the opportunity to work flex hours to maximize productivity. It’s also worth considering how much time people can expect to spend in meetings while in the office—this may be different than when they were working remotely.

What are the advantages of returning to the office?

For employees who have been working remotely for a while, the advantage of returning to the office is that they can get their routine and organizational structure back. 

Getting the team back together in the office offers great benefits for both the employer and employees. For many employees, the social aspect of working in the office has been missed. Workers can share ideas easily which promotes a strong and positive office culture, and can positively affect productivity while building a cohesive work team. It also allows employees to have better defined start and stop times to their work days, setting boundaries helps to gain an improved work life balance.

What are the challenges of returning to the office?

Returning to the office after COVID has been a significant change for many people. For some, it’s a welcome change, but for others, it’s an adjustment. 

The first thing that comes to mind when you think about returning to work is time loss due to commuting.  It is not just the time that it takes to go to and from work, but the cost and stress which often goes along with commuting. The second thing that comes to mind is a decrease in work-life balance because of commute time. 

This can be seen as both positive and negative; it will clearly define your time required at work.  Going into the office can also take away the flexibility in your day working from home. Some employees are finding that employees when required to return to the office are seeking other opportunities with firms that continue to provide a work from home option.  

How to keep the focus positive as the workforce returns to the office?

Employees may feel some trepidation as they return to the workplace after spending time at home, and that’s normal. The focus will shift over time. This is appropriate and healthy.

Working from home has its advantages, you often set your own hours and have no commute. However, there are some drawbacks as well. For example, the lack of collaboration and teamwork may make it difficult for you to complete tasks efficiently lower your productivity.

Collaboration is an important part of teamwork and team building. It helps get the team to know each other better, understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and improve communication skills. We can learn from each other’s successes and failures, which will improve our collaboration and problem-solving abilities. This leads to increased innovation, more efficient processes, increased success, and improved communication. Working together with colleagues can help you achieve your goals. 

In-person collaboration has been shown to increase team cohesion, which means that people are more likely to feel like they are part of a team than just a person doing their job. This helps increase productivity overall, as well as employee morale. In-person collaboration also allows for more creativity and innovation, since it allows for open discussion between people with different perspectives.

Establish a flexible work schedule when possible, offering a hybrid of in and remote work weekly schedule providing employees the option to have benefits of both a structured and non-structure work day. The post-pandemic world has completely revolutionized the way we think about offices, remote working, and employees’ workplace needs. 

In light of this, it’s no surprise that different companies have responded in different ways, opting for very different post-pandemic workplace strategies. Some companies decided to completely go remote after their WFH experience, which they found to be extremely positive. Others are adamant that working a full-time job is the best choice, and some have even reversed course. Of course, a lot of businesses are now choosing a hybrid strategy.

Google’s latest plan to bring workers back into its offices, according to the Wall Street Journal, Google told its employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and several other US locations that they will begin to return to workplaces from 4 April 2022. Most employees will spend roughly 3 days in the office. However, workers can choose to come into the office more than that if they’d like. They could also be required to work in the office more often if their managers feel it’s necessary.

On the other hand, some companies saw no benefits in working from home.  Netflix with its fast-paced corporate culture, which is centered on performance and sharing ideas; something that is thought to be more difficult in a remote working environment, saw the downside of remote working. “Not being able to get together in person, particularly internationally, is a complete negative,” Hastings added. 

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