


































Frontiers of Contemporary Education 
ISSN 2690-3520 (Print) ISSN 2690-3539 (Online) 

Vol. 2, No. 1, 2021 

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56 
 

Original Paper 

Purpose Built Offices Replaced by Work from Home (WFH) in 

a Time of Business Disruption: Hybrid Office Model (HOM) 

Lisa Barnes
1*

, Warrick Long
1
 & Peter Williams

1 

1
 Avondale University College, School of Arts and Business, Cooranbong, Australia 

* 
Lisa Barnes, Avondale University College, School of Arts and Business, Cooranbong, Australia 

 

Received: April 14, 2021        Accepted: April 27, 2021        Online Published: June 2, 2021 

doi:10.22158/fce.v2n1p56              URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/fce.v2n1p56 

 

Abstract 

With the pandemic of COVID-19 came a time of significant business disruption, particularly in relation 

to social distancing rules that effectively shut down organisations physical office spaces, and moved 

employees to Work From Home (WFH) in a very short space of time. This research looks at the current 

office space that employees use and compares it to the WFH space. The results showed that employees 

valued their physical office space, but that open plan or shared offices were often noisy and lacked 

privacy. Most described their office space as personal, comfortable, and conducive to productivity. In 

relation to the ability to work collaboratively, most respondents stated this happened in their current 

office space (87%), and with the move to WFH, 76% stated that they were still able to work 

collaboratively. Employees will no longer need to commute to work, can spend more time perusing 

personal plans and feel more productive when WFH. For employers, they now have access to a wider 

pool of talent, can enjoy cost savings and decrease their carbon footprint. The office of the future will 

be a hybrid model, a combination of WFH, working in the office and both, known as the Hybrid Office 

Model (HOM).  

Keywords 

Work From Home (WFH), Business Disruption, COVID-19, Hybrid Office Model (HOM) 

 

1. Introduction to the Study 

The World Health Organisation (2020) determined that the COVID-19 virus was as a pandemic, and on 

30 January 2020 declared it to be a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”. In response 

to this, the Australian Government has implemented that “Public gatherings significantly increase the 

risk of COVID-19 spreading, on 29 March the National Cabinet agreed to further limit most indoor and 

outdoor non-essential gathering to 2 people” (Australian Department of Health, 2020). This has had a 



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profound effect on the ability of people to work in their usual place of business. This research examines 

the effect of this on staff at Avondale University College, a higher education institution located in 

regional NSW, Australia who has been operating since 1892. 

Since the March 31, 2020 introduction of the Public Health COVID 19 Restrictions on Gathering and 

Movement Order (2020) by the NSW Government, working from home (WFH) is becoming the norm 

for staff who have the ability to do so. According to Safework NSW (2020), this includes the 

following:  

 “ceasing non-essential work activities that involve close personal contact (less than 1.5m) 

 implementing controls to reduce direct contact with workers and customers, including: 

o social distancing of at least 1.5metres (1 person per 4sqm indoors) 

o barriers to create space at counters, between workstations, seated areas, etc. 

o modifying shifts and rosters to reduce peak periods 

o actively supporting flexible work arrangements, including working from home (WFH) 

(emphasis added). 

In response to this government- imposed limitation on gatherings, the Avondale University College 

President sent to all staff on the 30
th

 of March (2020) the following: “The decision has been made that; 

 all those who are able to work from home and who have completed the paperwork/checks 

required by line-managers, should transition to working from home from this afternoon onwards. 

For staff yet to confirm their capability to work from home and/or to confirm the tasks they will 

be completing from home, we aim to transition you to working from home by Wednesday (April 

1); 

 from this afternoon onwards, all those needing to be on-campus should stay within their 

immediate work area and not visit other areas of campus that are not directly associated with 

their employment”. (President Avondale University College, via email 29/3/20) 

This comment derives from the Avondale Crisis Management Teams‟ staged responses to COVID 19, 

of which it was determined Avondale was at Stage B at the time (see Figure 1). Based on this 

information, all employees were encouraged to work from home, and if not to work only in their 

offices within their specific work areas, known as “moat” working. It is the aim of this research to 

understand what challenges and opportunities individual staff had when working from home, and what 

challenges and opportunities it meant for staff as a collective, when working remotely. 

 



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Figure 1. Avondale University College COVID 19 Stages 

 

Telecommuting or teleworking (Bloom, Liang, Roberts, & Ying, 2013) is described as “a facility or 

space which offers workers an alternative to either working in their normal place of work or working 

from home (WFH)” (NSW Government Trade & Investment, 2013, p. 5). Employers benefit from 

“increased productivity, security in retention, strengthened organisational commitment and improved 

performance”; Employees benefit from “reduced stress, better health and better work-life balance”; and 

the wider community benefit from “reduced congestion on roads and the corresponding environmental 

benefits” (Fitzgerald, Malik, & Rosenberger III, 2017, p. 4). 

From a work/life balance perspective, this balance has become more challenging, especially with 

increasing workloads and advances in technology, which have resulted in the boundaries between work 

and home life becoming more blurred (Major & Germano, 2006). Advances in communication 

technologies, such as mobile phones, laptops, email and wireless internet connections, have created a 

virtual workforce (remote working), where employees can be contacted anywhere and anytime 

(O‟Driscoll, Brough, & Kalliath, 2006; Beauregard & Henry, 2009). Being able to work from any 

location, especially from home, has an impact on a person‟s work-life balance. 

On the one hand, remote working enables the reduction in commute time, allowing for more time to 

interact with family and other non-work commitments, such as exercise and hobbies (Hall et al., 2013). 

Research has shown that employees who are Working From Home (WFH), are experiencing greater 

intrusion into their family life, due to the difficulty experienced in “leaving work at work” (Hyman et 

al., 2003). 

 



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Work-Life Balance (WLB) is the time an individual uses to work, in comparison with their time spent 

with individual engagement and relations (Abioro, Oladejo, & Ashogbon, 2018). In this century, WLB 

is an important concept, in which the equilibrium must be maintained and managed constantly. A 

finding shows that employees with a well-balanced life are valuable for the company, and the quality of 

their personal life impacts their work quality (Garg & Yajurvedi, 2016). 

Studies done by Barnes, Long and Williams (2019 and 2020) into the advantages of workers using a 

remote smart hub indicated two themes of 1/work satisfaction and 2/personal satisfaction from using a 

smart hub closer to home. They also identified factors that contributed to these themes, either as an 

opportunity or a challenge of reduced commute, flexibility, productivity, control, interactions (internal 

and external), wellbeing, facilities & environment, work life balance, cost & time. At times these were 

favorable outcomes, and at times these proved challenging.  

Due to the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, this research surveyed current 

employees at Avondale University College to see what challenges and opportunities arose when 

changing from working in an office space provided by the institution and its facilities, compared to the 

impromptu move to Working From Home (WFH). Staff were surveyed after they had been working 

from home for at least a month, to allow them to settle in and get used to the new ways of working.  

The aims of this project were to identify the current challenges and opportunities to employees of 

Avondale University College who have had to change their workspace to Working From Home (WFH) 

as individuals and as a collective.  

Based on the literature review and research aims, the Research Questions (RQs) for this study are: 

RQ1: What are the individual challenges for employees working from home? 

RQ2: What are the individual opportunities for employees working from home? 

RQ3: What are the challenges of working collaboratively from home? 

RQ4: What are the opportunities of working collaboratively from home? 

The research questions are identified in Table 1, and linked to the survey questions to elicit answers: 

 

Table 1. Research Questions Linked to Survey Questions 

Research Questions Survey Questions 

Individual Current Avondale 

Space 

Survey Questions 

Individual Work From Home 

(WFH) Space 

RQ1: What are the 

individual challenges for 

employees working from 

home? 

 

RQ1: What are the 

Part A: Current Avondale Office 

Space 

1) How long have you worked in 

your current Avondale 

space/office? <1, 1-5, 5-10>10 

2) How would you describe your 

Part B: Remote/Home Office 

Space 

1) How would you describe 

your remote/home office 

space? (Open) 

2) What is in your current office 



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individual challenges for 

employees working from 

home? 

 

current office space at 

Avondale? (Open) 

3) What and who shares your 

current office space? (Open) 

4) Is there anything you don‟t like 

about your office space? (Open) 

5) Is there anything you 

particularly like about your 

office space? (Open) 

6) How important is the physical 

space you work in? (Not/Very) 

7) How private is your current 

office space? (Not/Very) 

8) Have you been able to 

personalise your office space? 

(Yes/No) 

9) Do you think your office allows 

for collaboration with others? 

(Yes/No) 

10) Any other comments you would 

like to make about your 

Avondale office space? 

space? (Open) 

3) Who do you share your 

current office space with? 

(Open-children/partners/anim

als) 

4) Is there anything you don‟t 

like about your office space? 

(Open) 

5) Is there anything you 

particular you like about your 

office space? (Open) 

6) How important is the 

physical space you work in? 

(Not/Very) 

7) How private is your current 

office space? (Not/Very) 

8) Do you think your office 

allows for collaboration with 

others? (Yes/No) 

 

RQ3: What are the 

challenges of working 

collaboratively from 

home? 

 
9) What have been the biggest 

challenges working with 

colleagues who are also working 

from home? 

RQ4: What are the 

opportunities of working 

collaboratively from 

home? 

 
10) What have been the biggest 

opportunities working with 

colleagues who are also working 

from home? 

Demographic Questions 1/ How many years have you worked 

at Avondale? Scale 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 

15-20>20 years 

2/ Please indicate if you are 

professional/administration/academic 

staff member. 

 

 



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2. Methodology 

According to Yin (2003), qualitative methodology is ideal for generating descriptive answers, 

involving richness and intensity, to access and understand personal experiences and opinions. 

Qualitative research is undertaken when the researcher “aims to explore a problem, honour the voices 

of participants, map the complexity of the situation, and convey multiple perspectives of participants” 

(Creswell & Clark, 2011, p. 7). Quantitative methods will also be utilised to determine associations 

between key concepts in the research questions. This understanding arises through the depth of 

exploration of the participant‟s perspectives. 

Quantitative research methods typically use numeric data to measure variables (Sarantakos, 2005) and 

describe trends or explain relationships between variables (Creswell, J., & Creswell, D., 2018). It 

typically (but not exclusively) uses surveys, documentary methods, observations and experiments 

(Sarantakos, 2005). Creswell notes this method typically uses questions which are “specific and narrow” 

in order to “obtain measurable and observable data on variables”, using “mathematical procedures, called 

statistics” (2008, pp. 54-56). In order to get both qualitative and quantitative data collection, individual 

surveys will be sent to participants, with questions consisting of both quantitative (open questions) and 

qualitative (e.g., Likert scale) data collection. 

 

3. Results  

3.1 Formal Office Space 

A survey was administered to all staff at Avondale University College using survey Monkey, in July 

2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic business shutdown. Total staff at Avondale University College 

according to the Human Resources Department numbered 157, with 83 responses received, giving an 

overall response rate of 53%. Of the 83 responses, 74 (or 89%) indicated that they are now Working 

From Home (WFH), with 9 (or 11%) still working at the Avondale premises, (note those that answered 

“No” to working remotely did not proceed with the survey). Of the 74 respondents who indicated they 

worked from home, not all of them proceeded to answer the rest of the survey, with responses varying 

in number between 66 to 68. 

Respondents stated the amount of time they have worked at Avondale with less than 5 years=26 

respondents, 5 and 10 years also 26 respondents, between 10 to 15 years=8 responses, 3 between 15 

and 20 years and 3 respondents indicating services of 20 years or longer. Of the respondents who 

indicated that they had to work remotely, 38 (57%) were academics and 29 (43%) were from 

professional or general staff members. The respondents included employees who have been working at 

Avondale from being a new employee (less than a year) to an employee who has served more than ten 

years in the current space they worked in as shown in Table 2. 

 

 

 



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Table 2. Length of Time in Current Space 

Length of Service Number Percentage 

<1 Year 13 19% 

1-5 years 25 37% 

6-10 years 18 26% 

>10 years 12 18% 

Total 68 100% 

 

Survey data was administered to understand the current office space and compare it to the space used at 

home during the COVID-19 changes to social isolation. Current descriptions of office spaces at 

Avondale are shown in Table 3. 

 

Table 3. Description of Current Office Space 

Description of Current 

Avondale Office 

Example of Quote 

Good/Great/Excellent (23 out 

of 68 responses, 34%) 

“Very satisfactory” (#16), “quite adequate” (#17) “Excellent” (#6), 

“Very pleasant” (#10) 

Spacious/large (21 out of 68 

responses, 31%) 

“Spacious” (#4) 

“Large enough to conduct the various aspects of my job” (#25) 

“Large office for one person” (#58) 

Comfortable (13 responses, 

19%) 

“Comfortable” (#26) 

“Pleasant and comfortable with plenty of light” (#54) 

Tight/small (11 responses, 

16%) 

“Small internal office with one occupant” (#11) 

“Cramped” (#33), “Confined” (#34), “Small office” (#38) 

Efficient/Functional (10 

responses, 15%) 

“It allows me to work efficiently” (#1) 

“Practical” (#18) 

 “Allows for me to complete my work in an efficient manner” (#19) 

Work with Colleagues (7 

responses) 

“Open plan and adequate for the task of collaborating with team 

members” (#12) 

“It‟s located in and amongst the staff that I work with daily” (#50) 

Window View (5 responses) “Great view” (#2) 

“View out window” (#8) 

 

 

 

 



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The question of if office space was shared with others resulted in 68 responses, with 29 or (43%) 

stating they shared office space, with 39 (57%) stating they had their own office.  

 

Table 4. Individual Space v Shared Space 

Current Space Total Sample Quotes 

Shared Office Space 29 or 43% “It is difficult to block out telephone and other conversations of 

my colleagues in as part of their work” (#34) “No partitions and 

can be noisy and distracting at times “(#56) 

Individual Office 

Space 

39 or 57% “I have my own office in the building with other offices close 

by” (#20) “No one else, just me, just the way I like it” (#32) 

 

When asked if there was anything they didn‟t like about their office space, 28 or 41% stated that there 

was nothing they didn‟t like about their space. 40 participants (59%) stated some improvements were 

needed including increasing privacy (e.g., partitions, less people in one space) and reducing noise in 

shared spaces. Other issues included old, noisy and shared air conditioning, lack of glass panels and 

windows, cold offices in Winter, cramped spaces, open plan offices and loneliness from being too far 

away from other colleagues. 

When asked what participants liked about their offices the following where stated: 

 The view and natural light (25 participants, 37%) 

 Size of space occupied (18 participants, 27%) 

 Privacy (16 participants, 24%) 

 Collegiality (7 participants) 

Other reasons for liking the workspace included accessibility for students, lovely buildings to work in, 

having two screens to work on and air conditioning. 

When asked how important the physical space you work in was, only 6 participants (9%) indicated that 

it was not very important or not important. 62 participants (91%) indicated physical space was 

important or very important to them as shown in Figure 2. 

 



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Figure 2. Importance of Physical Space 

 

Participants were then asked how private their current workspace was, with 30.88% or 21 indicating it 

was not private. 42.65% or 29 participants stated it was sometimes private, and 26.47% or 18 stated it 

was very private. This aligns with the results above where space and privacy were indicated as positive 

factors for office space, and lack of privacy was shown in the open plan or shared spaces, particularly 

in relation to the level of noise.  

In relation to the ability to personalise space, 87% of respondents (59) indicated they had the ability to 

personalise, with 13% (9) indicating they did not have this ability. In relation to collaboration with 

others, 87% (59) stated their office space was conducive to collaboration, and 13% (9) stated that they 

didn‟t have the ability to collaborate with their current office space, as shown in Figure 3. 

 



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Figure 3. Collaboration with Others in Current Office Space 

 

3.2 Working from Home (WFH) Space (COVID-19) 

Participants were then asked to describe their remote office space, that they had moved to since the 

government implemented COVID-19 restrictions that effectively closed the Avondale campus down to 

both students and staff. Most described their home/remote working spaces as functional (17 responses, 

25%) and comfortable (15 responses, 22%). Some described their individual spaces in detail for 

example “Stand up desk on the chest of drawers in my bedroom or sitting at the living room table or 

breakfast bench” (#24). Some described how easy it was to set up their office at home or remotely for 

example “Really who needs a “space” when all you need is a computer and phone. I can work 

anywhere as long as I have a power point” (#40). Some also lamented that they felt their home/remote 

office was “heaven” (#60) and that “it is going to be pretty hard to go back to my 7.4 sqm office 

space!” (#34).  

Of the 68 participants that described their home or remote office, 61 (90%) indicated they had a 

dedicated desk, and dedicated chair (54, or 80%), some borrowed the chairs from their work office, 

others used dining chairs. 42 participants (62%) indicated they were able to use their computer/laptop 

from work at home, and others indicated that in their home office they also had access to a second 

bigger monitor (20, 43%), and a printer (19, 28%). Interesting were the other office equipment listed 

such as a “jogging trampoline” (#12) and a “fish tank” (#40). Others also described the difference 

between their home office and office workspace for example: 

“Desk (choice of sitting or standing which I do not have at work), much bigger screen 

(personal home computer), mini kitchen (sink, kettle), controllable heating/cooling 

(windows and sliding door open for fresh air, not possible at work), laser printer/scanner, 

bookshelf, controllable lighting (not possible in work space)” (#7). 

 



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When participants were asked who they share their remote/home office space with, 41 (60%) indicated 

that they shared it with children, partners or housemates. 22 participants indicated that they did not 

share their remote office space with anyone (32%) and a further 30% (21 participants) indicated they 

also shared the space with various animals. Some also indicated they shared the space with both family 

and animals, for example the following: 

 

Participants where then asked if there was anything they didn‟t like about working from home/remotely. 

27 or 40% of respondents indicated there was nothing they didn‟t like about their remote office. Of the 

other participants, issues included lack of space (12), lack of privacy, distractions, lack of adequate 

equipment (e.g., printer/scanner), lack of colleagues and too much easy access to both the pantry and 

the fridge! The following quote from participant #6, sums up some of the issues raised by this question: 

“There is nothing I don‟t like about my home office space. There are things I don‟t like 

about working from home. Being within „earshot‟ of anything that arises at home. Being 

too close to everything (not enough exercise). Being more „available‟ for work (i.e., 

putting in more hours that I am contracted to do because it is convenient to do so). Not 

being able to printout things that I need—when connected to Avondale my home printer 

isn‟t accessible but of course Avondale printer is also not accessible. No personal 

interactions with work colleagues. Correspondence via email rather than talking to 

someone face to face can sometimes cause a misunderstanding that could have been 

easily resolved in a face to face conversation” (#2). 

When asking the question what do you like about working in your home/remote space, only one 

participant indicated they did not like working remotely. All other 67 participants indicated that they 

liked working from home for reasons such as the following: 

 The View and natural lighting (22, 32%) 

 Comfortable (15, 22%) 

 Productive 

 Private 

 No more Commute 

 Quiet 

 Space 

 Others included, Multi-tasking, convenient and flexible. 

One quote from participant #6, sums up some of the issues raised: 

“Being able to do a home chore (like removing the washing from the line if it is about to 

rain) but being able to ensure that my work obligation is fulfilled. No travel so later start 

to the day (or time to do home chores before start time). With the shorter days—being at 



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home and warm during the work day and when the day is finished not having to travel in 

the dark and cold. Having access to whatever I feel like eating for lunch not what I 

managed to „throw together‟ as I ran out the door in the morning” (#18). 

Respondents were then asked how important it was during COVID-19 to have your own office space. 

82% stated that it was important or very important (22+34=56), and 18% indicated that it was not very 

important, or not important (4+08=12) to have their own office space as shown in Figure 4. 

 

 

Figure 4. Importance of Own Office Space during COVID-19 

 

When asked about how private their remote/home office was, participants answered that 10 felt it was 

not private, 21 stated somewhat private and 37 said private. This can be compared to the results for the 

Avondale office space as shown in Table 5. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 5. Privacy of Spaces Avondale v Remote/Home Office 

Office versus 

remote/Home space 

Avondale Space Remote/Home office 

Space 

Variance 

Not private 21 (31%) 10 (15%) 11 found more 

privacy at home 

Somewhat private 29 (43%) 21 (31%) 8 found home less 

private than office 

Very Private 18 (26%) 37 (54%) 19 found home more 

private than office 

Total 68 (100%) 68 (100%)  

 

In terms of collaboration with others whilst working remotely Figure 5 shows the results: 

 

 

Figure 5. Collaboration Home/Office Space 

 

Challenges identified included seven main factors that created challenges in working from home or 

remotely. These Challenges included Collegiality, Communication, Workload, 

Equipment/Connectivity, Community, Mental Health & Work Life Balance. Table 6 lists these with 

supporting quotes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 6. Challenges of Working Remotely/Home Office 

Challenges Quotes from Respondents 

Collegiality “I miss the face to face contact” (#14) 

“Physical presence” (#17) 

“I miss the collegiality” (#18) 

“Zoom connection provided space for connecting with others” (#7) 

Communication “Not being able to talk and collaborate face-to-face” (#19) 

“Not being privy to body language when communicating/giving 

direction” (#4). “I struggle to insert myself into conversation in the 

same way I would in person” (#46) 

Workload “The blow-out in workload” (#37) 

“The sheer number of hours spent in Zoom meetings has been 

exhausting some days” (#29) 

“I tend to work more at home than in the office” (#35) 

“Availability has been difficult for some of them who are home 

schooling” (#36) 

Equipment/ 

Connectivity 

“We are a paper-based department and at first that proved to be a 

challenge, but we have since figures out solutions that seem to work” 

(#27). “Can‟t print your documents out so everything has to be saved 

on the F Drive” (#53) 

“Making sure I have brought everything I need from work home” (#54) 

“Learning to use technology such as zoom” (#55) 

“Internet performance and connectivity with College Network” (#34)  

“Zoom is tiring” (#2) “Zoom fatigue” (#25) 

Socialisation/ 

Community 

Missing the “social gatherings where we share personal stories” (#65) 

“Maintaining a sense of community” (#67) 

“Motivating of staff who are extroverts and thrive on people being 

around” (#15) 

Mental Health “Monotony and anxiety” (#21) 

“I see some work friends struggling” (#65)  

Work Life 

Balance 

“Not knowing when I‟m at work or home” (#45) 

 

Opportunities included six of the seven challenges listed in Table 6, including Collegiality, 

Communication, Equipment/Connectivity, Community, Mental Health and Work Life Balance. Only 

workload was not discussed as an opportunity. Three other opportunities were also identified including 

Flexibility, Productivity and Innovation, as shown in Table 7 with supporting quotes from respondents. 

 

 

 



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Table 7. Opportunities of Working Remotely/Home Office 

Opportunity Quotes from Respondents 

Collegiality “Sharing challenges and solutions to working online/delivering education 

online” (#10). “Closer collaboration with Sydney Campus” (#19) 

“Staff worship via zoom when we get to see and know staff from other areas 

of the College” (#6) 

Communication “I have been able to communicate with them more often” (#1) 

“More open, honest conversations that often extend beyond work related 

matters” (#2). “We can all work from home and still communicate via zoom 

or email to achieve what we would normally achieve at work” (#42) 

Equipment/ 

Connectivity 

“Zoom has provided a wonderful opportunity to stay connected with 

colleagues” (#3). “Zoom meetings has actually brought about more 

collaboration” (#15). “The ability to interact through Zoom/Skype digital 

media” (#34). “Connecting globally” (#7).  

“Learning new ways of collaborating remotely” (#46) 

Community “We have grown closer and kept in touch more often than we did in the 

office” (#8). “Team collaboration between both physical campuses” (#26) 

Mental Health “Team meetings designed with the main focus on well-being and how 

you‟re going” (#58)  

Work Life 

Balance 

“Proof of concept that work can continue fairly much as normal” (#19) 

“Not having to travel” (#52) 

“Once COVID restrictions are lifted … the experience has showed us that 

we can get work done when we are isolated… we may be able to choose to 

work from home on some days” (#34) 

Flexibility “More flexible ways of meeting” (#11) 

“Autonomy” (#24) “Availability of people” (#66) 

“Flexible working areas from home” (#39) 

“Attendance at meetings has been more regular by all members” (#13) 

Efficiency/ 

Productivity 

“I get more done at home!” (#14) 

“Improving processes and work more efficiently” (#27) 

“Meetings I found are more intentional and kept to topic” (#54) 

“Not having staff trooping into my office … has allowed consistent 

concentration on tasks… more focussed interaction with colleagues” (#29) 

“Time to do research” (#62) 

“Watched a lot of podcasts to get professional development hours” (#63) 

“Setting boundaries—no casual visitors that suck up time” (#65) 

Innovation “Stretching our norms and developing new ways of working” (#22) 

“More innovative. Think outside the box, refine our processes and be more 

open to change” (#36) 

“Working with existing colleagues to integrate new technology” (#32) 

“Learn new technology skills” (#51) 



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A summary of these findings is shown in Figure 6, where there are six factors that appear as both 

challenges and opportunities, with a unique factor of “workload” as a challenge, and three additional 

issues as opportunities including “Flexibility”, “Productivity” and “Innovation”. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 6. Challenges and Opportunities for Remote/Home Office 

 

4. Discussion 

COVID-19 has given organisations an opportunity to demonstrate their trust in their staff through 

working from home, and that although challenges have been presented, that these challenges can also 

turn into opportunities, and bring with it, additional prospects of flexibility for staff, increase in 

productivity and use of innovation. What does the office of the future look like? According to a survey 

conducted by PwC (June 2020), the office of the future will change, with 3 out of 4 executives 

declaring Working From Home (WFH) a success, with a caveat that employees need to set clear 

Challenges of Remote /Home Office 

Opportunities of Remote/Home Office 

Communication 

Collegiality Workload 

(Unique 

Challenge) 

Equipment/ 

Connectivity 

Community 

 

 Mental Health 

Work Life 

Balance 

Flexibility Productivity Innovation 



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work-life boundaries, and employers need to be more flexible (PwC, 2020). 55% of executive 

respondents would like to utilise WFH at least 1 day a week, with most agreeing that the office of the 

future whilst not obsolete, will change with 30% believing they will need less office space in the future 

(PwC, 2020). This is indicative of potential changes to the way people will work in the future. It seems 

a hybrid model will suit most employees with a combination of WFH options with office space as 

needed, particularly to encourage collaboration and provide social support for the model to work. 

Figure 7 shows this hybrid model, with the options of WFH, working in the office and Hybrid (HOM) 

of doing both.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 7. Hybrid Office Model (HOM) 

 

This study has shown that employees of Avondale are generally happy with their office spaces on 

campus, but identified some challenges in shared office spaces, such as noise and privacy, and that the 

physical space they work in is important, as is collaboration with colleagues. Upon moving to WFH 

during COVID-19, most agreed that their home office was comfortable and functional, and that it was 

important to have their own space for privacy and productivity. 76% of people WFM also identified 

that it was important to collaborate with colleagues and that this was possible to do remotely.  

It appears that going forward the “office” will change for many organisations. If employees are happy 

to work from home, and have the space, privacy and equipment they need to do their job efficiently and 

effectively from home, then employers need to provide that flexibility. The upside for employees is no 

commute time, more time with family/partners/friends, and the ability to work for an organisation that 

may not be in your geographical area. For employers it means a decrease in the carbon footprint for the 

environment, a decrease in costs, e.g., electricity, heating, cooling, & rent and a wider talent pool to 

recruit from. The office of the future then, will be a hybrid model of WFH, working in the office, and 

a combination of both, known as the hybrid office model (HOM). 

 

 

 

 

Traditional Office 

Space 
Working From 

Home (WFH) 

Hybrid Office 

Model (HOM) 

(Combination of 

Traditional Office 

Space and WFH) 



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