How would we like to work in the future? This is a question that concerns us in many projects and also in our own working environment. The Corona pandemic has again increased the focus on this. On the occasion of the lockdown, we looked for answers together with our team. A survey of our home office employees got to the heart of the matter: flexibility and self-determination are particularly relevant for well-being at work. But social contacts are also very important. Home and office, personal and digital communication should therefore be balanced.

For our team, working from home also had some advantages. Many particularly appreciated the flexible and self-determined organization of working hours. The concentrated meetings via video telephony were also perceived as positive. In the process, everyone has developed their own strategies for well-being in the home office. Setting daily rhythms or getting some exercise in between made the workday easier. What was missed first and foremost was the personal exchange with colleagues. Without “floor talk”, social interaction and informal conversations came up short. The professional equipment of the workplace is another plus for the work in the office. Here there are also more impulses and inspirations through the cooperation with the others.

Given the forced situation, working exclusively in a home office was not perceived as optimal. However, some of the results of the survey are very inspiring for our design of office work. This includes not only a more flexible working environment, but also the possibility of working at home at least some of the time. A creative “logbook” for the office, which is constantly updated, as well as a “work case to go” for work on the road are other nice ideas from our home office team.