Avila Spaces Barometer on Teleworking points to a new direction in the post-pandemic era: a hybrid model

The results of a recent survey conducted by Avila Spaces show that a new way of working is being born: a combination of being in the company’s office and a second space which can be a coworking – that is what more than 90% of the respondents want.

Lisbon,  August 2020 – Avila Spaces, a leading Business Centre for innovation in the flexible workspaces market in Portugal, conducted a survey in June 2020 on the future of teleworking in Portugal which concludes that the hybrid remote work represents a trend in the post-pandemic era: it will be a combination between working inside and outside the company’s offices, as a way to better balance business with leisure moments. Overall, this new barometer also concluded that the experience of working outside the company was positive.

The possibility of a hybrid model, which combines teleworking and a regular presence in the company, was endorsed by 92.8% of the participants. Being able to choose a coworking space to start developing the activity, while reconciling it with the work at the company’s office, is supported by the total respondents in this study (1013 participants).

During the lockout, about 91.6% of those interviewed worked from home whilst 51% ensured that teleworking will be a reality soon, whether at home or elsewhere (for example in a coworking space). According to this survey, the option for a shared workplace will even avoid some disadvantages that survey participants denote in their home environment: 26% reveal isolation as the main disadvantage and 19.6% regard the assistance to children as an obstacle to working from home.

During this period, the experience of working outside the company was positive for 84.1% of the surveyed. When asked about the regularity of this same work, 30.4% stated that they would like to work outside the office once a week, 28.9% would like to work outside without a defined periodicity and 18.6% would like this model to be permanent.

“Taking into account the barometer data, and although it is too early to draw any conclusions, I believe that Portuguese people would like to have a hybrid model where it is possible to work outside the office at least once a week. This is natural, and since no organisation will ask for the return of all employees simultaneously, it is essential to take precautions”, recalls Carlos Gonçalves, CEO of Avila Spaces.

This first experience was be positive for many companies, but it was due to the Covid-19 pandemic: “The main disadvantages were isolation and the constant need to pay particular attention to children. If it is possible to continue with the remote work model, after this pandemic, productivity rates will certainly increase as the negative impacts, such as isolation, will no longer be present in the future.  This is where coworking helps to have more focused teleworking as well as higher productivity levels – Avila Spaces is the perfect place for everyone to return to work safely and fulfils all the hygiene requirements set out by DGS”, assures Carlos Gonçalves.

In this regard, Avila Spaces plays a pioneering role as it has developed a series of best practices which are being applied in its coworking space. We even created the WORK SAFE manual to help our customers and users to follow the best hygiene and safety practices in the coworking and Business Lounge: you can see the PDF document here.

About Avila Spaces

Avila Spaces is the most awarded Business Centre and it is an innovation leader in the flexible workspaces market in Portugal. The new coworking and the Business Lounge offer a premium environment with state-of-the-art technology, where companies can grow sustainably and dynamically. In 2010, Avila Spaces revolutionised the virtual office market as it was the first to launch a pioneering platform worldwide – myOffice app.

Avila Spaces was founded in 2004 and currently has more than 600 national as well as international clients. It has been a member and a representative in Portugal of the largest Business Centre network in the world –  eOffice International Network. This network has got more than 300 locations and it is managed from the United Kingdom. Avila Spaces is based in Lisbon – Avenida da República and Avenida João Crisóstomo.