Forecasting the 'new normal' - how Stockland is adapting to hybrid working

Future of work trends look set to settle-in as the world becomes more comfortable and adept at hybrid working and it’s clear that a balance between in-office working and alternatives is essential.

We’ve been working hard to shift our culture and operating rhythm to not only adapt to hybrid working, but to optimise our workplaces and practices so our business, and our customers’ businesses, can thrive in an evolving landscape.

Expected flexibility

For Stockland, flexible working has been a long-standing benefit to our people but, with the disruption most organisations and employees have faced in the last two years, an on-going strategy to support flexible working practices and hybrid collaboration is essential to success.

The PwC Australia report, Balancing Act – The New Equation in Hybrid Working¹ shows that employees want to return to the office, just not full time with 74 percent wanting to work from home three days a week.

We recognise that ways of working will continue to evolve, and that Covid-19 has accelerated many of the changes.

Stockland’s workplaces operate on a “Hub and Home” flexible work model. We’ve had this arrangement in place for a number of years now, recognising the need for people to spend time collaborating in an office environment, coupled with time at home for more strategic, focused work.

An example of just one of our initiatives is our Touchdown space in Parramatta – aimed at providing flexible options to our people who live in the south west and western areas of Sydney. Operated by Servcorp, the Stockland touchdown space is in the heart of Parramatta with several workstations and flexible collaboration areas reserved for our people.

We’ve learned that in order to foster new and developing ways of working, which is crucial to building a strong, healthier, and motivated workforce, our spaces must adapt, and we’re bringing this knowledge to future workplaces we develop.

Tools for productivity and connectedness

Technology has become even more important in bridging the gap for people working remotely and understanding these shifts can help landlords, employers and employees adapt to the new modern workplace.

Over the last three years, technology has enabled hybrid working and helped us maintain face-to-face contact through lockdowns and workplace restrictions. In fact, the abovementioned PwC Australia Balancing Act report found that from over a thousand interviewed participants, one third of workers (33 percent) found they performed better in virtual meetings.

But for technology to continue complementing and facilitating the way we work, we need to ensure that our people, our buildings, and our cities are equipped to evolve as needs and practices shift.

We have recently upgraded technology devices for all our employees, providing the flexibility to easily extend their online workplace to the home, or on the road. The new tech has also digitally enabled our physical meeting spaces – once one-on-one or quiet rooms and smaller spaces with no previous VC capabilities, are now transformed into hubs for virtual collaboration!

And on a broader scale we are future-proofing new developments such as M_Park where two of the first office buildings, 11 Khartoum Rd and 15 Khartoum Rd, have achieved Platinum WiredScore Certifications – WiredScore’s highest certification confirming that a building’s wired infrastructure, resilience and wireless network meet exceptional standards³.

Embracing the ‘new normal’ and creating spaces to thrive

As people return to the office, the nature of the work they do there is shifting, and we are seeing that shift in workplace design and fitout. Collaboration and flexibility have become key focus areas along with wellness, convenience, and activities that both require and support human connection.

Hotel-like services and amenity, biophilic office design and open spaces are emerging from new developments, and Stockland’s new workplaces M_Park and Affinity Place will each offer more diversity for their occupants enabling all kinds of work.

Alongside large and flexible floorplates, spaces feature a broad variety of amenities such as wellness centres, hangout spaces, cafes, and outdoor theatres to make sure offices do what they do best, build a home away from home.

To find out more about Stockland workplaces, visit our website.

Source

1. PwC Australia report, Balancing Act – The New Equation in Hybrid Working
2. Stockland Annual Report 2022
3. https://wiredscore.com/certify-a-building/wiredscore/
4. Future-proofing the workspace through hotelisation – Financial Express