Survey Reveals Top Global Trends In Alternative Workplace Strategies
Los Gatos, CA (PRWEB) February 05, 2014 -- New Ways of Working (NewWOW), a research consortium focused on alternative workplace solutions, today released the results of its latest benchmarking survey, involving 169 organizations globally, representing 1.6 million employees.
This is the fourth biennial alternative workplace (AW) benchmarking study that examined how leading organizations around the world implement, manage, and profit from alternative workplace practices, settings, and locations. It assessed types of alternative workplace locations and work options used, status and length of program, business drivers, provisioning, barriers, change management, values, and benefits.
Alternative Workplace (AW) is a combination of nontraditional work practices, settings, and locations that supplement or replace traditional offices. AW practices include mobile work inside and outside the office, hoteling, work from home (telecommuting), and work from third places, among others.
More and more companies are adopting alternative workplace as a business strategy and half of organizations surveyed report AW program maturity is of 3-10 years or more. “The presence of these mature programs shows that companies have found that alternative workplace programs have continuing value, and now consider them a normal way of doing business,” says Dr. Jim Creighton, Director of the New Ways of Working Network and co-leader of the benchmark research project. “Also, AW programs are moving beyond simple telecommuting and now include a greater use of third spaces.”
NewWOW’s previous study in 2011 revealed that cost was the key driver of alternative workplace implementations and people issues comprised the main barriers. However, the latest survey shows a major shift in drivers of alternative workplace implementations.
“Soft,” people-related issues ranked as the primary business drivers of AW programs. People issues (employee attraction/retention employee work/life balance, increased employee satisfaction, and increased employee productivity) also topped the list of AW benefits. Cost savings dropped to fifth in the driver ranks.
“It’s clear that organizations are no longer justifying AW programs by cost savings alone,” says Dr. Gabor Nagy, Ideation Manager at Haworth and co-leader of the benchmark research project. “Today’s forward-looking organizations turn to flexible workplace options as a way to attract and retain top talent, while also being able to reap the benefits of substantial real estate cost savings.”
Future plans: NewWOW plans to continue this study on a biennial basis. Organizations that participate will receive a detailed report. To learn more about the study or to participate in the 2015 survey, contact Dr. Jim Creighton (jim(dot)creighton(at)newwow(dot)net).
For a free download of NewWOW’s Executive Summary, highlighting findings from the 2013 Benchmarking Study, please click here. http://www.newwow.net/node/4172
NewWOW’s study was made possible with support from BYYE Labs, a pioneer in visioning, a new category of applications that enables people deep understanding and clear communication in any creative process, and from Haworth, a global leader in the design and manufacture of office interiors and adaptive workplace environments.
About New Ways of Working Network
The New Ways of Working Network is a membership organization of thought leaders from companies and academia exploring new ways to organize work: how, where, when, and with what tools. They provide a forum for dialog between peers who are implementing some aspect of new ways of working. Members bring a wide range of experience from the fields of organizational design, technology, and workplace design. The Network is further enriched by the contributions of respected academic researchers and knowledgeable consultants. Please visit New Ways of Working for more information http://www.newwow.net.
Jim Creighton, New Ways of Working, http://www.newwow.net, +1 (408) 354-8001, [email protected]
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