A hybrid employee who is unsatisfied with the office will stay at home and work remotely

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health media release 13 December 2024

The significance of office premises has not decreased with hybrid work, but it has changed. Office spaces and experiences of work premises are a key factor in choosing between remote and in-person work. People who assess work premises more negatively do more remote work and are more likely to want to further increase the amount of remote work. More positive experiences of workplace facilities are linked to better well-being at work.

"According to our research, peaceful working conditions are a key factor in attracting people to the office. That means the ability to focus on your work without any major distractions and interruptions. The office should enable opportunities for concentration, even if the premises are primarily intended to support encounters and collaboration," says Annu Haapakangas, Chief Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Design of premises and its role in the hybrid work model

"Employees with different remote and in-person work profiles have different needs for office premises, which is why the design and role of the premises should be considered as part of organizations' hybrid work model. 
The office must provide support for a wide range of tasks, and the premises must also be easy to use for those who visit the office less often," says Suvi Hirvonen, Senior Specialist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

To support the development of office premises, the HERO project has published the "Toimistotilat hybridityömallissa" (office premises in a hybrid work model) development roadmap. Development requires collaboration, which is why the questions of the roadmap are aimed at many different parties: management, HR, work environment designers and developers, and occupational health parties.

Peaceful working conditions protect against short sickness absences

According to the study, peaceful working conditions at the office were linked to fewer short sickness absences.

"The results are in line with previous data on the effects of stress in open-plan offices. What was significant in this study was that workplace conditions were recognized to be linked to sickness absences even in hybrid work, where people spend less time at the workplace," says Annu Haapakangas.

The research project also followed up on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the amount of remote work and short sickness absences. Although remote work has become an established part of the way work is carried out, the incidence of short (1-3 days) self-reported sickness absences has remained at the low pre-pandemic levels. This means that remote work does not increase such short absences. 

Learn more

• Final report of the Hero research project: Erilaisten toimistotilojen, etätyön ja sairauspoissaolojen väliset yhteydet ennen ja jälkeen koronapandemian(in Finnish, Julkari.fi)
• The "Toimistotilat hybridityömallissa" development roadmap (in Finnish) can be downloaded from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s theme page on remote work, hybrid work and multi-location work: Etätyö, hybridityö ja monipaikkainen työ 
• The materials can also be found on the project page: Links between different office types, remote work and sickness absence before and after the coronavirus pandemic – HERO project 2021–2024
  
  

Further information

• Annu Haapakangas, Chief Researcher, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, annu.haapakangas@ttl.fi, tel. +358 50 535 2984
• Suvi Hirvonen, Senior Specialist, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, suvi.hirvonen@ttl.fi, tel. +358 50 535 3851