How Shutterstock is solving remote and hybrid work challenges with flexible workspaces
Nov 3, 2023
4 mins read
Employee Experience
In a recent New York Times article, Nicholas Bloom, well-known Stanford economist and researcher declared that the 5-day work week was over. Ongoing Gallup research supports his evidence-based opinion.
“Based on our findings, it’s unlikely that everyone will return to the office five days a week in the foreseeable future.” – Gallup
Both predict that work will look like some combination of remote and hybrid. This can present myriad challenges, particularly with workplace engagement and employee experience, for companies who are looking to transition their teams to one of these models, or, like many businesses are doing, some combination of both.
As Ashley Casey, Global Assistant Director of Workplace Experience & Operations at Shutterstock recently shared about her teams’ needs, which have shifted since being in a remote/ hybrid setting for a longer period of time:
“Employees want a people and community-focused culture and environment, increased wellness benefits, schedule flexibility, inclusive learning environments, agency and autonomy that is optimal for productivity. They also want programs and initiatives that enrich the overall workplace experience (quality over quantity).”
The physical office is no longer equated to “productivity,” and so, companies are being challenged to create an environment that supports the broad needs of their employees and addresses their change in values as the view of “going to the office” has shifted.
In order to address their teams’ varying needs and values, companies like Shutterstock have effectively implemented flexible workspace strategies to help foster a positive workplace culture and increase employee engagement.
Shutterstock’s flexible workspace strategies incorporate three specific types of workspaces—destination hubs, coworking suites and on-demand coworking services—and can be used as a solid foundation for any company looking to address their hybrid work challenges in an effective and strategic way.
- Deploying an integrative workplace management software that captures space utilization and occupancy analytics to help make real-time adjustments to floor plans, lease management and task automation.
- Decommissioning any underutilized offices and offering on-demand or other types of coworking services that better fit employee needs.
- Creating guidelines for leadership on how these various models can be productive so they can better support their teams.
- Hosting monthly team-building events to help bring employees together.
- For the direct lease offices, reducing the number of available desks, upgrading technology and design, and creating multi-functional breakout spaces.
With dedicated personnel, like Ashley and other team members, Shutterstock has shown its vision for what the future of work looks like and is working to meet the ever-changing needs of its remote and hybrid team members. They’ve shown that with a future-thinking approach to flexible workspace strategies, remote and hybrid teams can be successful and thrive.
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