The new work organizations that are shaping the company of tomorrow

Telecommuting, full remote, flex office, desk sharing, corpoworking, portage salarial, 4-day week: are these new work organizations revolutionizing the world of work, or are they just passing trends?

While this may be a legitimate question, it turns out that these alternative ways of working are logical responses to people's changing needs and desires, particularly those of the younger generation:

• more autonomy,
• more flexibility,
• more mobility,
• and more meaning.

The health crisis of 2020 then considerably accelerated the adoption of these working methods, perhaps for the long term?

Find out how these new forms of work organization work, and what the benefits are for your company and your employees.

See all software HR Management System (HRMS)

Telecommuting: towards standardization

In the wake of the health crisis, everyone has, willingly or unwillingly, tried out or heard about telecommuting, a form of organization that enables people to spend their working day away from the company premises.

While telecommuting was already part of the culture of some companies before the arrival of Covid-19, for many it was a novelty to introduce it.

Even today, some companies remain 100% telecommuting until the situation improves, while others have opted for a hybrid working model between telecommuting and face-to-face.

👍 The benefits of teleworking

For employees :

• less time spent commuting,
• greater organizational autonomy,
• better concentration,
• less stress and fatigue.

For the company :

• possibility of switching to flex office and making savings,
• reduced absenteeism,
• increased productivity and employee commitment,
• improved employer brand.

👎 The risks of teleworking

For employees :

• unsuitable workstations that damage health,
• work environment that is not conducive to concentration (pets, family, work, etc.),
• risk of isolation.

For the company:

• increased cybersecurity risks,
• difficulty communicating with employees,
• investment in tools.

💡 A few tips

• set up moments of connection and exchange,
• equip yourself with the right collaborative tools,
• organize the transition.

Full remote: telecommuting taken to the extreme

Full remote is when 100% of working time is spent away from a company's premises.

A distinction is made between :

• temporary full remote, as is currently the case with the health crisis;
• full remote for certain employees only, with the rest of the workforce working in offices;
• full remote as the organizational norm for a company, i.e. all employees are off the premises, often going hand in hand with the total elimination of premises.

👍 The benefits of full remote

For employees:

• elimination of constraints and time spent in transport,
• autonomy in time management,
• freedom of mobility,
• increased well-being.

For the company :

• savings thanks to the reduction or closure of offices,
• more fulfilled, autonomous and productive employees.

👎 The risks of full remote working

For employees:

• the boundary between work and personal life can become blurred,
• reduced social interaction between colleagues,
• isolation can lead to malaise.

For the company :

• risk of losing the link,
• the malaise of certain employees.

Desk sharing: employees without a fixed desk

Desk sharing is the practice of not assigning a desk to employees, who choose where to set up when they arrive in the morning.

This practice has emerged in consulting firms and companies with many of their employees on the move, leaving offices unoccupied most of the time. At a time when real estate prices are increasingly high, providing an office for each employeerice when the workforce is never 100% present on the same day, was a poor optimization of space and associated costs.

Today, with the spread of telecommuting and the emergence of new ways of working (more meetings, project-based working, etc.), desk sharing is being increasingly adopted by companies.), companies are increasingly adopting desk-sharing solutions, as the occupancy rate of office space declines year on year.

In the Paris region, it is estimated that the office occupancy rate will fall from 50% to 60% by 2020, compared with 80% just a few years ago.

As a result, the culture of hierarchy and office privilege is tending to disappear. Employees, managers and directors now work in the same space.

💡 Desk sharing can also refer to subletting unoccupied office space to one or more other companies to pool costs.

👍 The benefits of desk sharing

For employees :

• easier work exchanges,
• links are forged with other teams.

For the company :

• financial savings due to space savings,
• collaborative working,
• a stronger corporate spirit.

👎 The risks of desk sharing

For employees :

• loss of reference points,
• transporting equipment if there are no lockers.

Flex office: flexibility in the office

The flex office is a flexible organization of company space, and consequently of working methods.

The aim? To adapt more easily to the needs and uses of employees by :

• eliminating office ownership, as with desk sharing,
• while at the same time providing different types of space for each individual to use according to his or her needs... or desires.

Why is a flex office worthwhile?

In a typical week, employees generally have several types of needs to meet in order to carry out their various tasks:

• moments of calm and concentration when they need to produce, for example, writing an article, coding a feature or creating an interface mock-up) ;
• moments of creativity and collaboration with other people to innovate, generate new ideas, etc. ;
• telephone calls with external parties, such as customers or service providers, which require isolation in order to hear the caller and avoid disturbing others;
• moments of informal exchange during a lunch break.

Finally, it's a financial optimization of space that takes into account the well-being of employees, and a response to the difficulty of anticipating the appropriation of workspaces by employees.

💡 We can even extend the notion of flex office to the fact of being able to occupy different workspaces (coworking, telecommuting from home, café, office, etc.).

👍 The benefits of flex office

For employees:

• spaces adapted to their needs,
• frequent changes of environment can stimulate well-being and creativity.

For the company:

• encourages collaboration and creativity for greater innovation,
• adapted to project mode,
• greater productivity.

👎 The risks of flex office

For employees:

• loss of personal space,
• inability to find a place in the desired space,
• transporting equipment if no locker is available.

For the company :

• resistance to change, which sometimes makes it difficult to implement.

💡 Here are a few tips to help you get started:

• conduct a formal change management process,
• include employees in the planning process,
• enlist the help of professionals.

Portage salarial: the advantages of salaried employment and entrepreneurship

Portage salarial is a hybrid form of employment, halfway between salaried employment and entrepreneurship.

Here's how it works:

• the contractor finds an assignment with a customer and sets the fee, without having to set up a company or self-employed status,
• they sign an employment contract (fixed-term or open-ended) with a "portage" company,
• the company takes care of all administrative formalities with the client company (invoicing, insurance, terms and conditions of the service contract, etc.),
• the "porté-e" carries out his or her assignment independently, enjoying all the benefits of the contract (pay slip, health insurance, CE, luncheon vouchers, etc.).

The use of freelance administration is set to increase dramatically in the next few years, given the number of new freelancers arriving every year.

Over the past 10 years, the number of people working as freelancers has risen by 145%... and it's not going to stop any time soon.

👍 The advantages of freelance administration

For employees :

• work in complete autonomy,
• while enjoying the benefits of salaried employment,
• a more stable situation, enabling them to qualify for unemployment benefits or access credit more easily.

For the client company :

• no payroll charges,
• flexibility of work depending on activity (as with temping).

👎 The risks of freelance administration

For employees :

• fees to be paid to the "portage salarial" company,
• sometimes need to generate a minimum amount of sales,
• the need to find assignments yourself.

Corpoworking: a coworking space in the office

Corpoworking, for corporate and coworking, is the creation of a workspace modeled on a coworking space on the premises of a company.

Here are the codes it borrows from coworking:

• the emphasis on exchange and collaboration,
• accessibility to outside contributors,
• a layout that promotes comfort, well-being, conviviality and creativity,
• hosting events and workshops.

👍 The benefits of corpoworking

For employees :

• creates a social bond,
• breaks the daily routine,
• stimulates creativity,
• provides learning opportunities.

For the company :

• work on employer branding,
• bring unused space to life,
• foster collective intelligence and innovation,
• an ideal place to launch a project and practice brainstorming.

👎 The disadvantages of corpoworking

• requires the necessary space,
• represents an investment,
• poses a risk to confidentiality,
• must be managed and animated.

The 4-day week: a 180° turnaround

Working 4 days a week and keeping your salary: a utopia? And yet, some companies that have taken the plunge show no signs of turning back, given the positive impact on employee well-being and productivity.

According to a study by ADP, 50% of French people surveyed would rather work longer, but over 4 days, than over 5 days.

How do these companies organize themselves? Here are a few examples:

• reducing working hours to 6 h per day,
• working 32 hours a week over 4 days (as LDLC does, for example),
• working 35 hours a week over 4 days,
• offer Fridays for a few months of the year (the Love radius company does this from May to August), etc.

💡 The 4-day week doesn't necessarily mean closing the company one day a week. Quite often, a rotation is carried out between employees to ensure continuity of service.

👍 The benefits of the 4-day week

For employees :

• responds to a real need for flexibility and time for oneself,
• contributes to well-being.

For the company :

• helps combat presenteeism,
• increased productivity (Microsoft in Japan saw productivity rise by 40% after giving employees Friday off).

👎 The risks of the 4-day week

For employees:

• if the day is longer, it may not suit everyone's schedule (for example, if children need to be picked up from school).

For the company :

• requires a rethink of the entire organization in order to ensure the rotation.

See all software HR Management System (HRMS)

Management needs to adapt to new ways of working

These new modes of organization are revolutionizing the way work is perceived and done, embodying values that are increasingly dear to the hearts of employees, particularly the younger generations.

Their implementation is made possible by the digitalization of companies, but not only. In fact, reorganizing a company without rethinking management to adapt it considerably increases the risk of failure.

The implementation of these new work organizations removes a certain rigidity, while providing a framework for employees, enabling them to :

• gain in autonomy,
• take initiative,
• develop their potential,
• gain in skills,
• unleash their creativity, etc.

Rather than giving in to the temptation to spy on your employees remotely to check that they are actually working their hours, build a relationship based on trust by entrusting them with objectives, while letting them organize themselves to achieve them. Make sure they have all the skills and tools they need.

This type of participative management, or empowerment of employees, makes it possible to reconcile growth and well-being at work:

• by unleashing potential,
• innovating,
• and being ever more agile.

Indeed, in an increasingly uncertain environment, it's generally the most agile companies that come out on top.

And what about you? Have you already adopted a new form of work organization? If so, what did you implement, and did it work?