Written by Allstate NI
Around the world, businesses are rethinking the way we work. The pandemic has upended established routines, abruptly moving us to remote working. The results were unexpected. Through numerous employee surveys we have established that our employees found working from home made them happier and more productive, and that when we return to the workplace, things will not be the same as they were before. Results indicated a large shift in employee preferences now and in the future, with the vast majority of employees preferring some type of hybrid working arrangement.
At Allstate, we are very proud of the culture we have in place. One of the most important steps is creating an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. Since the pandemic began our employees have boldly embraced new technology and learned fresh and innovative ways to connect with one another. Our goal is to increase collaboration and innovation, while continuing to keep all that is good about Allstate including a strong sense of connection and community.
What Allstate has landed on is a fully flexible hybrid way of working. While some companies are mandating how often and when employees should come into the office. The Allstate hybrid working approach offers employees the best of both worlds, a mixture of working from home and working/interacting/socializing in the office. The hybrid workplace gives our employees the choice of working in one of our offices, working from home, or splitting their time between the two. The Allstate hybrid approach means there are no minimum or maximum days designated to being remote or office based.
We believe that offices will play an important but fundamentally different role in the future. The Allstate offices have evolved to allow collaboration, socialisation and interaction rather than just work – it will enable in-person connection, community and partnership.
Allstate have made significant investment across all offices to ensure an optimal experience, offering a flexible office space, meeting, collaboration and social areas. Employees have a choice of what area of the office best suits the type of work they need to do at that moment, whether it’s focusing on a task in a quiet zone or getting up to speed with colleagues over a coffee.
The new Allstate hybrid model gives employees the complete freedom to choose where and when to do their best work.
The hybrid workplace prioritizes the employee experience. In the short term, hybrid working offers vital reassurance as the pandemic subsides. But in the long term, the hybrid workplace offers flexibility for those who want it. It will attract a new generation of workers who demand it. The hybrid workplace boosts employee happiness will ensuring connection between those in the office and those at home.
The Allstate offices will become an even more integral part of the Allstate culture and fabric as a company. The reimagined offices will be more useful and necessary than they have ever been, evolving to serve a wider role for Allstate as a collaborative, learning, and social space, with shared spaces designed around networking and team building.
The Allstate hybrid approach will increase productivity: allowing employees to utilize their time better. They can choose to avoid commuting at busy times. With the office being less densely populated, they can focus on tasks without the noises and interruptions of the traditional office environment. By implementing greater flexibility, most employees won’t have an assigned desk to work at all day, every day. Instead, a system will be in place where desks can be shared – to help us use our spaces and resources more effectively.
For some, we appreciate that working from home can be isolating or distracting. A hybrid workplace mitigates many of the downsides of pure remote working, creating a professional space outside the home for you to collaborate and socialize with colleagues.
The Allstate offices incorporates a mixture of versatile spaces designed to support employees across different tasks, such as standing desks, relaxed lounges, meeting rooms & booths, and coffee areas for informal team chats. Employees are encouraged to collaborate using our new meeting rooms and portable touch screens; socialize over a game of pool or table football or have some friendly competition playing arcade games; and develop through strategy sessions and training.
The pandemic has taught us a lot about how we work at Allstate. It’s proved that our usual routines are not set in stone, and that alternative ways of working are not just viable but can have a lasting impact on our employee’s happiness, productivity, and well-being. The future of work is flexible and turning to the hybrid model is a way to achieve the flexibility our employees need.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2022 edition of the Sync NI magazine. You can download your FREE copy and sign up to receive future digital editions here.
