• The great exodus from office to home triggered by Covid is set to dramatically alter future work arrangements both in the short- and long-term.

• With social distancing measures likely in place at least until 2021 (and perhaps beyond), many will be working from home for the foreseeable future.

• This means that new policy measures need to be taken to give workers access to beneficial remote work arrangements.

• In this report, Autonomy provides analysis and proposals for a remote working future designed with worker wellbeing and organisational efficiency in mind.

• We provide a set of high quality prototype illustrations of what new, Community Open Workspaces could deliver in terms of space and service.

Authors:

Francesca Farruggia
Phil Jones
Julian Siravo

Contributions from:

Alessandro Bava

Will Stronge, Director of Research at Autonomy, said:

“Remote working can bring many benefits but there is a very real danger that it will result in people working more hours with no clear boundaries between work and home life impacting on mental health.

“Working from home shouldn’t be the only option for remote working going forward. Our blueprint puts forward some of the policies and infrastructures that will be required for the ‘new normal’ to become a net positive for the UK workforce. 

“It sets out a plan for maximising the benefits of remote work so that greater free time, greater autonomy in working life and less time commuting are embedded into best practice for the future.”

This research was supported by the Alex Ferry Foundation.