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Employee expectations have changed. Is your workplace ready?

A Global Report on Changing Expectations and the Future of Work

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About the Study

Since the onset of the pandemic, Steelcase has conducted ongoing research to help organizations understand its impact on their people and business. A science-based and data-driven approach uncovers new perspectives about how and where people want to work going forward.

The Steelcase Global Report shares the synthesis of eight primary studies designed to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic will change the future of work. The quantitative and qualitative studies deployed methodologies based in the social sciences and were conducted in multiple countries, including over 32,000 cumulative participants.

Steelcase is committed to continuing research to understand what’s next and share what we’re learning to help make work better.

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The Key Benefits and Challenges of Working From Home

People’s experience working from home is deeply personal and as diverse as individuals themselves. 10 countries report drops in engagement and productivity when people are dissatisfied with their work-from-home experience and have to do it more often.

A More Flexible Approach to Work

While some headlines suggest the office will go away as people embrace working from home almost exclusively, the research identifies a more nuanced, hybrid future. Most people expect to work in the office most of the time, but they also expect greater flexibility from their organizations going forward.

 
 

How Often People Expect to Work From Home

Changing Employee Expectations

After spending months at home during a crisis, workers have never been more in touch with what they want from their work and workplace. They have new and increased expectations of their employers and workplaces.

A synthesis of multiple Steelcase studies identified five critical employee needs that will change the overall work experience.

  • Safety
  • Belonging
  • Productivity
  • Comfort
  • Control

Designing a Better Work Experience

Steelcase research identified four macro shifts leaders will need to embrace to create safe and compelling places where people can be engaged and productive. When we consider what people need, and how the work experience is shifting moving forward — old planning paradigms will need to change.

The pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives — how we live, learn and how we work. It’s time for an experience that’s fundamentally better. Better is possible. Let us show you how.

Download the full report

Learn more about the pandemic’s impact and how this will drive change in where and how people work.

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Employee expectations have changed. Is your workplace ready?

A vast majority expect a hybrid approach with more flexibility in where and how they will work. It’s time to reinvent the workplace.

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