The future workplace of SMEs

Abstract

The Dutch government implemented strict regulations to reduce the spreading of the virus and highly encouraged travel restrictions and to work from home if possible. As a result, organizations were forced to adapt and implement remote working. These implications became the norm for close to two years. Consequently, the needs and preferences of employees and employers have changed indefinitely. Employees displayed a positive experience with remote working, which has left organizations questioning whether their current real estate aligns with the desired workplace strategy. Many CEOs during the pandemic said they would cut down their office space by 69%. A year later, this has already changed to 21%. However, 51% of those CEOs also said they would invest in collaborative space. The majority of media and research directs its focus on large corporates and leading commercial landlords. Consequently, there is more uncertainty about the role of the future physical office for middle-smaller organizations (SMEs). SMEs make up 67% of the Dutch workforce and are essential for the Dutch economy. Despite their importance, SMEs have remained understudied in the ongoing experiences of the pandemic. Moreover, SME resource constraints likely limit the support for their future workplace transition. Creating a workplace that supports the organization thoroughly is a complex process. Therefore, this study aims to research how organizational components are used by Dutch SMEs transitioning to a hybrid workplace strategy.
Preliminary interviews and literature provided insight into the propositions in each organizational component on how Dutch SMEs are transitioning to form a proposition. This help structure the basis for which next, a holistic multi-case analysis was used to examine the SME in each organizational component in a hybrid workplace strategy. Lastly, a proposition performance analysis to understand how each component performed.
The research findings provided insight into SMEs' adoption of organization components in their hybrid strategy. The main motivator for SMEs to keep using a hybrid workplace strategy is to support the employee's desire. Employers are hesitant to provide complete flexibility and remain involved to ensure that their employees continue to use the office as their primary workstation. In addition, employers seem worried about losing their organizational sense of belonging and desire more collaboration. Furthermore, SMEs focus their resources in either their conventional office or in the home office. Very realized thoroughly included both locations.
To ensure SMEs implement a successful hybrid workplace strategy and utilize their input resources as much as possible, SMEs need to prioritize an employee-orientated approach in each organizational component. Furthermore, adequate physical resources are essential in both the conventional office and the home workplace. While the physical environment is critical, focusing on the behavioral environment will most impact people's productivity.