When a video conferencing company is making headlines for ordering staff back into the office, it’s clear the debate over working from home versus in-office working is going nowhere.
Zoom is one of a string of major businesses encouraging staff to return to the office, while KPMG’s most recent annual survey reports that the majority of global chief executives expect all employees to have fully returned to the office by 2026.
That might be easier said than done.
The pandemic has changed people’s attitudes to flexible working, but it has also changed staff’s expectations of their employers and workspaces.
Previous studies have highlighted the growing risks of staff disengagement, with one published in August 2022 finding that 60 per cent of workers feel disconnected from their work.
The best workplace environments can have a tangible positive impact on staff, improving mental and physical resilience, and helping companies reap the benefits by improving staff retention, wellbeing, productivity, and team connectivity.
A business investing into culture can create a circular economy that benefits everybody.Those potential benefits, and the risk of growing disconnect, are leading more businesses to explore creative ways to entice staff back to the office. It is here that investment into cultural initiatives, including office art, comes into the equation.
A report by Brookfield Properties found that 69 per cent of office workers agreed that having interesting and visually attractive art pieces in the workplace contributes to their well-being.
At Artiq, the art agency I run that leases collections to City firms, we have seen an interesting shift from our clients in the past 18 months as to what their staff want from their workplace environments.
Historically, there has been a focus on proving their environmental credentials. Now, our clients also want their workplaces to embody their company's social values.
Investing into cultural initiatives is an obvious way to achieve this.
Circular economy
When properly planned and executed, a business investing into culture can create a circular economy that benefits everybody: the local creative economy benefits from investment; a company develops a clear narrative around its office and identity that is rooted in its location and community; and staff benefit from an enriching, inspiring environment.
Social-focussed collections take many forms. In our experience it has meant all-women collections, seasonal collections that speak to key moments in the calendar, such as Black History Month, or local collections that shine the light on the best aspects of the locale and community.
In many cases, the staff themselves are given a say in what they want their office to look like and what would most benefit them.
Our own research shows how effective this can be.
Half of all office workers believe artwork makes them more effective, 61 per cent believe art inspires them to think and work more creatively, and 82 per cent believe artwork to be an important addition to the workplace.
In the age of rising disengagement, this is a method that is proven to work and change staff perspectives.
The story of what a business is and what it represents is constantly evolving.
As more staff are told to return to offices, the challenge for companies is to craft a narrative that resonates with their staff, motivates them to return to their workplace, and catalyses greater productivity, wellness, creativity, and resilience.
Patrick McCrae is chief executive of international agency Artiq
