European mobility platform-Bolt is piloting the concept of hybrid office with only 20 per cent of employees having designated seats.
This, as the debate about the future of the office, rages on with more companies and experts now envisioning a hybrid future, with more time spent working remotely, yet with chances to regularly convene teams.
Data shared by Bolt, which operates in 35 countries, indicates that most of their employees prefer to work from home but visit the office for infrequent and periodic meetings or social interaction with colleagues.
The survey conducted among 1000 Bolt employees at the beginning of June indicated that almost 80 per cent of Bolt employees would like to work from home at least half of the time or more.
Based on the key card use data from Bolt HQ in Tallinn, Estonia, office visits peak during the company’s all-hands meetings and on Fridays for social gatherings.
Another trend is teams meeting in the office to have lunch together.
“The future of our office space looks hybrid – a situation where you have teams working from home and others in the office. We are listening to our employees and want to provide them the flexibility to fit work in their lives,” said Ola Akinnusi, Country Manager at Bolt Kenya.
“During the Covid lockdown, many of our employees were surprised how efficient they were working from home. However, the conditions certainly differ based on someone’s living situation and personal preferences. We want to enable everyone to work where and when they find it most convenient,” Akinnusi added.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made many organizations adapt to the new working style, either work from home or combination of working from home and having some staff occasionally working from the office.
This might actually be a permanent change and something that organisations would want to adopt.
The added value of the hybrid office concept brings about the possibility to keep growing fast while retaining the same office premises and the highest attainable productivity for the business.
During the past few years, Bolt has seen hypergrowth to 1,600 employees in 35 countries.
Bolt currently operates its hybrid office in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam on the African continent.
In the last months, the company has accelerated the expansion of Bolt Delivery for Business and Bolt Lite in Kenya in diversifying their offering, while also introducing Bolt Protect to keep Drivers, Customers and the public safe.
It has more than 30 million users in Europe and Africa, with services ranging from ride-hailing to micro-mobility with e-scooters and electric bikes to food and package delivery.