When the Coronavirus pandemic first hit, we all thought we’d get a nice two to three weeks working from home which quickly turned into a few months then several months, and now maybe years. It made us think, is this the new normal?

It’s almost impossible to remember a time where we all went into the office. The entire tech industry embraced the work from home culture, and immediately transitioned into remote work permanence. Companies like Twitter, Dropbox, Slack and more have adopted remote-first policies to give employees the choice in where they work. Mark Zuckerberg predicts that 50% of his Facebook workforce will be remote workers in the next 5 to 10 years.

While remote work may have its place in our future, big thanks to the freedoms we have enjoyed in the pandemic, the office is not going away. In a lot of cases, businesses may even increase office space.

In fact, according to a PWC survey in June, 51% of executives plan to increase their office space in the next 3 years after COVID-19.

The shift back to the office is already starting, you may have noticed if you’ve recently sat in traffic during rush hour. According to a Gallup poll, only 33% of workers in September are exclusively working remote. This is a big jump down from the 51% working remotely full-time in April at the height of business restrictions. The trend seems to be going down. 25% are now working remote sometimes, and 42% are back at work full-time.

At the same time, employees who are able to work remotely have enjoyed no traffic, more money in their savings, more time with friends and family while maintaining their same salary. What does this mean for the future of the workplace and how will businesses need to adjust?

No matter what data you look at, it’s clear that workers are demanding a balance of in office and remote work flexibility.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers according to the Gallup poll want to continue to work remotely in some capacity even after the pandemic. Half of workers are still concerned with COVID exposure if they did return to work which tells us that option to work remotely is still so important to employees.

Slack’s Remote Employee Index reports that an overwhelming 72% want a combination of office and remote work in the future. The challenges pushing people back in the office, at least part-time, is building relationships among coworkers, increased loneliness or isolation, and not knowing what other teams are working on.

The office isn’t going anywhere, but businesses need to be flexible. A recent survey taken by Fast shows that 66% of workers would even be willing to take a pay cut in order to have flexibility in where they work.

Companies spent the last few years giving perks like free dinners and beer on tap in order to keep people at the office as long as possible. These trends have shown that businesses may just give employees the opposite. Not all employees will work the same - some may work full-time in the office, some part-time, and others will just come into the office on occasion.

Employers need tools in order to manage these different types of employees.

How mobile access control can bring this flexibility to your business

Businesses who utilize mobile access control systems will have a smoother transition to this new workplace. Simplified key management in the cloud and real-time data on who is coming and going will allow businesses to give their employees the ability to work from where they want while optimizing and keeping track of how their workspace is being used. This both helps businesses to be more efficient and secure.

Eliminate keys

If your workforce is split, some coming in everyday, and some once or twice a week, managing keys can quickly become an administrative nightmare. Instantly grant and revoke access as needed to secure your business and simplify your operations. Replace every physical key, keycard, and fob with the smartphone.

Simplify access with schedules

Contractors, part-time, and full-time employees can all have different access schedules according to when they need to come in. Especially when opening back up, slowly grant additional hours to employees while growing your capacity to 100% to ensure an organized and safe opening. Set up Groups based on employee hours to share keys more efficiently.

Remotely unlock

Owners and admins shouldn’t be the only ones who don’t have the ability to work from anywhere. With a cloud-based access control system, remotely unlock the door from anywhere for deliveries and guests. You can be in the office, without actually being there.

Real-time analytics + audit trail

Data with what is happening within your space during these uncertain times can give you the information you need to make the best decisions for running your business. Know who is entering your space and when to optimize staffing and monitor capacity. Track where COVID-positive employees went and what times to notify others who were nearby.

Message your community

You may need to communicate with those who are in the office to remind them of work being done to the facility, or notify those who aren’t in the office to tell them to come in for an event or meeting. A smart access control system knows who's in the office and who isn't, making it easy to message those groups.

Touchless access

The smartphone as your key and access management system gets you closer to touchless access than ever before. No handling keys or keycards, and users don’t touch the same reader or keypad to gain access to the building. Share access and remotely unlock the office for anyone without having to be present.

The office isn’t dead by any means. Will you transform your workplace to be more flexible with mobile access control?

The office isn’t going away, just changing, it’s time to talk about mobile access control