Where are we now?

The first lockdown in Malaysian began on 18 March 2021 to curb the spread of Covid-19, with the country’s international borders closed and strictly monitored. 

A year on plus from lockdown, we evaluate where the lockdowns and economic crash have led us to.

What vaccine arrival means for office 

According to a report by McKinsey, Covid-19 has reportedly accelerated the use of digital technology by several years for businesses.. But even before the pandemic, it was that 70% of companies either had planned a digital transformation to adapt to the swift changing work landscape, or even were working on one. It is a proven fact as seen today: in only several months, experts managed to roll out vaccines that would have usually taken a decade.

To date, around 300,000 people in Malaysia have been vaccinated for at least one dose. It is worth noting that this number should rise to 32.7 million population by February 2022. This means pleasant news for offices. 

The increasing number of vaccinated people will create a safer office for workers to return to. The vaccine also creates a more positive and clearer vision for employers to plan ahead about offices. Therefore, returning to the office will be less risky and less worrisome for employers and employees.  

It’s time for a flexible and hybrid work life

While many companies successfully adapted to remote-working, it is worth thinking whether we should rush to return to the office?

As many crave going back to the office, some companies are already adopting the hybrid work approach. For example, Facebook anticipates half of its workforce to work from home by 2032. In addition, Google expects to open offices in September 2021 and adopt the ‘hybrid’ work model.

What does this mean? We believe this means companies should decentralize their workforce be more flexible and adopt more flexibility. Serviced private office NOVUX will be able to support and sustain businesses to upscale or downscale without sacrificing the whole company.

Changing attitudes to working culture

With work-from-home swiftly becoming the new norm, attitudes to the office work life are fast changing. Businesses that wish to have their team collaborate in one spot again should consider where most of their employees want to work – rather than deciding without employees’ opinions. 

If it is difficult to decide, businesses can consider moving into serviced offices instead. Serviced offices create a more relaxed and safe work environment ready with support services – ranging from cleaning, technology support to privacy. Here is where a company’s needs are met without many costs. 

Flexible serviced office spaces can help companies de-densify their office without sacrificing many costs. Returning to the office safe up the office concept amid the pandemic, easily reenter the workplace with a flexible coworking space. At NOVUX Serviced Offices Kuala Lumpur, our team is always on their feet and ready to help.