It’s time to come back to work! In the short term, working remotely to prevent the spread of Covid-19 makes sense. But the office is irreplaceable in many respects. The workplace also plays a crucial role in ensuring the Cape Town Central City is the most successful in South Africa. In the spring issue of City Views, we built a (strong) case for why people will, and need to, return to the office.
Remote working is for the birds. This is the view of the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, who recently told The Wall Street Journal that working from home is “a pure negative”.
While millions of workers continue to work from home around the world in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, companies are starting to figure out how to get their employees back to work safely. Unlike Netflix, other Silicon Valley giants like Twitter, Facebook and Google have extended their work from-home policies. Hastings, however, is keen to get his teams back in the office as soon as possible. “I don’t see any positives to working from home,” he said.
While Google has given its 200 000 employees the opportunity to work from home until the end of the year, its commitment to the office was confirmed when it recently signed up for more office space next to its upcoming $1.2 billion HQ in London.
Like Hastings, Tasso Evangelinos, CEO of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID), believes it is harder for teams to collaborate when they are not together. Evangelinos says while technology has allowed for productive homebased work, it is no replacement for the office. “Working from home goes against human nature. Many people are feeling the impact of solo working. The novelty of not having to commute is starting to be replaced by a need to have somewhere to go in the morning.”
FEELINGS OF ISOLATION
Stats back this up. A recent survey by Giant Leap, one of South Africa’s largest workplace consultancies, revealed that 86 % of people wanted to go back to working in an office. While remote work was initially very popular, people feel they don’t have a work-life balance. People also feel isolated and are experiencing difficulties in carrying out team tasks, with many missing their co-workers. This correlates with Weforum’s finding that the second biggest struggle for remote workers is loneliness. Issue number one is switching off mentally after 17h00.
There are, of course, other issues. Many people don’t have a home set-up conducive to productivity. South Africa also has high data costs, and many people are not adequately connected. Then there’s load-shedding affecting different staff at different times, making it difficult to coordinate large meetings.
INNOVATION THRIVES IN THE OFFICE
Rob Kane, CEO of Boxwood Property Fund and CCID chairperson, says the workplace is critical to innovation, and in the long term, working from home will harm a company’s culture, and affect staff motivation, passion and commitment. “Being in the same space as colleagues is vital for upskilling those who are less experienced.” Cape Town organisational ecologist Leon du Toit says the office provides structure, rhythm, discipline and predictability. This gives managers a level of control over work delivery.
These factors all contribute to a business’s success, and to the success of the CBD and greater Cape Town economy. Says Evangelinos: “The pandemic has shown that remote working is possible, however the long-term effects have yet to be measured. Retailers, residents and offices all exist together. If you remove one from the ecosystem, our cities may need to be reimagined and repurposed.”
WHY THEY LOVE THE OFFICE
THERESA BOKS
Theresa Boks is the building manager at Mutual Heights in Darling Street, a residential building with about 175 apartments. She deals with maintenance issues and service providers to ensure owners and residents have a safe and clean environment. Interestingly, she started in her new role on 20 April 2020, when South Africa was under stringent Level 5 Lockdown regulations. At the time, she had to manage a new property with limited resources and information from home. When the country moved to Level 3 Lockdown in June, Boks was all too happy to return to the office. “I enjoy the interaction with staff and residents and being able to resolve issues swiftly.” Boks says she always wears a mask and maintains Covid-19 protocols. “I am not scared when I am out and about, whether I am inside or outside our building.”
SARAH DIVARIS
Asset Manager at Boxwood Property Fund, Sarah Divaris has been working in the CBD for over three years. Based at Atterbury House, she is responsible for managing Boxwood’s R1.4 billion Cape-based commercial property portfolio, marketing and general operations. She’s been back in the office since May and believes that “there’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction”. For Divaris, being back at work has advantages. “Taking on new staff is extremely difficult, if not impossible, when you’re working remotely. We have been able to easily integrate a new employee into our team.” In terms of skills and relationships, Divaris says sharing market knowledge and picking up ideas in everyday conversations has also been beneficial. She also feels secure in the city centre. “I feel safe, more productive and much happier being back at my desk than being at home.”
DONNA-MIA VAN DER HEYDE
In 2021, Donna-Mia van der Heyde will be celebrating 20 years of working on The Piazza on Church Square as an accounts administrator at Jeff Gowar Inc. She came back to the office “the minute she could” on 1 May. “Yes, on Workers’ Day! Our fantastic boss made our return to work pleasant. We’re all in this together and in these uncertain times, I’m very grateful to still have an office to return to.” Van der Heyde says in the office, “the lines of communication are much faster and clearer and there are no distractions or delays”. She also enjoys the camaraderie, “even at a distance”. Her advice to people still working from home is that balance is important. “You should be able to separate work from home. Set boundaries and create a balance. If you can’t do that, it’s best to return to the office.”
Note: The article appeared in the spring edition of City Views.
IMAGES: Google, CCID