Survey: 90% of employees want to return to office

A representative “OMG Snapshots” survey by Riga's greenest office complex “VERDE” reveals that 90 percent of people who due to the Covid-19 pandemic were or still are forced to work from home would like to return to their usual work environment - the office – as soon as it would be possible. Interestingly, half of those wanting to return would like to switch back entirely to work at the office. Meanwhile, the other half would prefer a mixed work environment, performing some of their job duties at the office and some at home. 

Lockdown makes people appreciate advantages of the office

Working from home during lockdown has made people to increasingly appreciate the work environment provided by the employer and how it helps better concentrate for work, say 53% of respondents. Meanwhile, precisely half of respondents (50%) indicated that work at the office helps better maintain a balance between work and private life. Better technical equipment (49%) and the sense of team, or the opportunity to work side by side with colleagues, exchanging ideas on a daily basis (49%), are playing almost an equally important role. 

Nearly every third respondent (29%) noted that the office provides a more ergonomic work environment, and a quarter of respondents feel that the working atmosphere at the office is much calmer than at home. Nearly a fifth of the surveyed employees (19%) said they would like to work at the office because they have grown tired from working online for so long.  

Demand for modern offices to surge

"For many companies, this has been a year of change, as they have had to take care of employees' wellbeing more than ever before. A question that has been and will stay on employers' agenda is - what work environment would be the best for all employees in the current epidemiological situation, taking into consideration that some want to return and work at the office full time, while others would only want to show up at the office a few times a week. We came to this conclusion in the past half a year, discussing with more than 50 local and international entrepreneurs their need for new office space," says Iveta Lāce, Commercial Director of VERDE office complex.

“The discussions with the potential tenants highlighted one more trend - entrepreneurs see a solution to the situation in a physical relocation of their businesses to new-generation A-class offices, because thanks to modern and sustainable architectural and infrastructural solutions, they are the best when it comes to ensuring employees' wellbeing both on the collective and individual level. I therefore project demand for green offices like VERDE to keep growing”, Iveta Lāce adds.

Residents of Riga value flexibility 

The survey reveals that flexibility is important to Riga-based office workers – half of them (50%) want to work partly at the office and partly from home. Meanwhile, 39% of employees in the capital city whose main working environment is the office see complete return to the office as the optimal work model. 

The survey of office complex “VERDE” was conducted in cooperation with “OMG Snapshots” in December 2021 by polling 509 office workers in Latvia, aged over 18 years.