Executives and leaders tasked with rethinking work environments are stepping into uncharted waters. There’s minimal clarity about how workplaces should look and operate post-pandemic, or how many people will be coming into the office day to day.
Before COVID-19, about five percent of U.S. HR executives said 40 percent of their employees were working from home (defined as working remote at least three days per week).1 Mid-pandemic, in April of 2020, 20 percent of those executives said they anticipated 40 percent of their workforce would be remote after the pandemic. When asked again in September, more than a third of HR executives said at least 40 percent of employees would be working remotely post-pandemic.
As the concept of how workplaces should look and operate has been upended, assumptions about remote work were challenged. Attitudes shifted in light of the proven productivity of remote workers and the newfound efficacy of digital collaboration technologies like videoconferencing.
What started as temporary working arrangements is transforming into the updated look and flow of day-to-day operations. As lockdowns and restrictions wane and workplaces repopulate, everyone from HR executives to facilities managers are figuring out their new workflows — and how they’ll manage and communicate these significant changes.
Workplaces of all sizes and industries were already in the process of digital transformation before the pandemic. COVID-19 just sped up these existing programs, say experts of office design and operations, who see the pandemic as a catalyst for building and activating digital business plans.
This white paper is a practical guide for companies reimagining the possibilities of their offices. It walks through the market drivers, societal shifts and technologies that office leaders must consider as they build strategies around a new and emerging hybrid workforce.
You’ll learn about several different scenarios and use cases for applicable technologies, as well as the kinds of products that support a safe return to the office and boost remote productivity and collaboration, no matter where your team members, customers, partners and collaborators spend their workdays.
Offices aren’t going away, but they’re changing — and in some cases, shrinking. The office’s purpose must be redefined: What value does a work team gain from a physical office?
Individual experiences vary, of course, but surveys show that the forced shift to working from home (WFH) didn’t hamper productivity for many businesses. The consulting firm McKinsey polled C-level executives, and two-thirds of the responding companies reported that remote working arrangements boosted their productivity, employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
Alongside productivity and related benefits, a shift to hybrid work can also have tangible bottom-line benefits.
CNN surveyed a pool of CEOs of large companies and found that more than two-thirds of them had plans to downsize their office space in the wake of COVID.4 That shift is driven in part by some employees’ permanent remote working arrangements, but it’s also motivated by the opportunity to cut the cost of a commercial office lease and related overhead.
Hybrid work models can also widen a company’s talent pool by letting employees who move continue to work remotely and allowing new talent to be hired from out of town — or out of state. The ideal hire no longer has to live in the same area.
McKinsey’s research on hybrid work confirms that the companies it defines as leaders and innovators have reimagined how they enable their workforces in a world where workers are no longer limited by their physical location.
In every case, these workplaces’ effectiveness depends on having the right tools and communication technologies to help the whole team understand your updated operations and where they need to be. To inform, recognize and motivate your team — and keep them engaged — digital displays play a critical role in ensuring success.
Emptying workplaces for several months gave companies a unique opportunity to assess where and how their employees can be most productive, engaged and happy.
Office environments are now seen as hubs for collaboration, debate and brainstorming — particularly post-pandemic. They’re the optimal place to build and nurture company culture while you develop, mentor and retain talent.
Remote working arrangements, such as home offices, are best for focused work that doesn’t need to be completed at a main office, amid all of its bustle and distractions. Remote offices provide (generally) quieter, less distracting havens of digitally powered productivity. With supporting equipment like monitors and peripheral technologies, a home office is as effective as a central office, or more so. Plus, the lack of a commute contributes to a healthy work-life balance and increased productivity among workers.
While some corporate giants have said their employees can opt to work from home for the foreseeable future, industry observers expect most businesses to adopt hybrid arrangements.
Some staffers will return to spending five days a week at the office, while others will enjoy a flexible schedule that requires only a few trips to the office every week.
Other companies might use technology to enable a more fluid, dynamic workforce — with team members coming into the office for team meetings, or to collaborate with a particular colleague or manager.
Conventional workplace norms and boundaries are becoming less important, replaced by an attitude that prioritizes whatever works best for a company and its people.
When health safety measures required people around the globe to limit their trips and work from home as much as possible, big tech companies predicted that the shift to remote work could be permanent.
More than a year of experience and new perspective has revised that thinking. Offices are still very much part of most organizations’ core operations. But offices will need to be redefined and better equipped for today’s workforce.
For millions of people, WFH eliminated the time, cost and daily grind of commuting to an office. But that arrangement also forced business leaders to make compromises on how they nurture company culture, foster collaboration and develop their talent. The majority of executives (68%) worry that company culture falters when employees are not in the office at least three days a week, and that potential loss of culture has the most negative impact on the younger generation of workers.
That’s why many employers and employees are most interested in a hybrid working arrangement — spending at least part of their time in a common workspace with their colleagues.
Technology will drive how these revamped workplaces operate, with digital signage informing, guiding and motivating staff — on displays at desks and everywhere from lobbies and common areas to high-density seating areas. One common theory is that workplaces will increasingly be seen as destinations — places that staffers want or need to get to for the sake of the surroundings, social energy and access to more sophisticated technology solutions, all of which are conducive to productivity.
The office is also important to career development, from spending face time with managers to mentoring and learning by example. Onboarding new hires and supporting their internal career growth can be limited over a webcam.
The workplace also presents a break from the isolation of remote work — a chance to relate in ways that don’t work quite so well with video calls — as well as a chance for teambuilding and social activities, like group lunches or training.
Whether it’s in a storefront office, several floors of an office tower or a corporate campus, display technology reflects a journey for employees, and displays are positioned differently according to their applications.
LED displays are replacing conventional building signs, being used as marketing billboards or cladding a large part of the building’s facade — making its architectural design active and dynamic. Digital signage has the potential to be informative for employees while connecting businesses with the surrounding community.
Applicable tech: Direct view LED messaging displays
LED and high-brightness outdoor LCD displays do everything from locating buildings and guiding visitors through campus plazas to reporting parking availability and shuttle bus schedules.
Applicable tech: Direct view LED, high-brightness digital signage, outdoor-ready LCD, interactive displays
Organizations and property owners can make impactful, recurring first impressions with digital signage that reinforce their brand. Indoor signage can also be used to entertain guests, provide directions, keep visitors informed or manage visitor access. LED video wall technology, including Samsung’s The Wall for Business, can line an entire wall of your lobby with ambient visuals or branding that makes a statement about your company or the building, attracting and retaining tenants.
In smaller workplaces, SMBs are using flat-panel displays — such as Samsung’s user-friendly Pro TV platform – to greet visitors in reception areas and provide helpful information. Interactive displays can be used for directories and wayfinding, or for self-check-in. Small hybrid 13-inch displays manage health safety protocols by including functional add-ons like a sanitizer dispenser or a thermometer.
Applicable tech: Direct view LED, microLED (The Wall for Business), LCD, QLED, Pro TV, social distancing solutions
Evolved thinking about workplace design has led to more casual work settings — including soft seating lounges and nooks where people can gather or disappear when they need a change of scenery. In some cases, these open areas, such as large cafes, can double as immersive auditoriums for company- or division-wide meetings.
Screens in these areas can be multipurpose — as active presentations or interactive canvases for impromptu brainstorming, or big screens displaying company-branded messaging when not in use. Businesses are also adding displays to break rooms and dining rooms — even restrooms — delivering key messaging that’s hard to ignore.
In the cafeteria, digital menu boards can present the day’s food options, or you can set up a kiosk for easier ordering and payment. The Pro TV from Samsung is a versatile display that can be changed in an instant — one moment sharing your menu, the next moment sharing critical health and safety information. When cafes are used as additional meeting spaces, workers can leverage digital signage for smaller work sessions and meetings.
Applicable tech: LCD and interactive LCD, digital signage, Pro TV, digital menu boards, Samsung Kiosk
Networked displays are being added to elevator lobbies and elevator cars, where screens communicate wait times to staff members and visitors. This helps manage traffic flow and keeps people moving through the office. Some in-elevator displays may blend advertising with news and building-specific information.
Applicable tech: LCD and interactive LCD, 13-inch display
As workplaces repopulate, many video meetings will return to in-person, though some participants might participate remotely. Meeting spaces of all sizes and purposes now need to be able to support digital communication so each participant feels included.
In most cases, meeting rooms need a suite of solutions that allow participants to share presentations and collaborate, while making it easy for remote participants to contribute via videoconferencing. A larger meeting room might use a full LED video wall — custom-fitted to the dimensions of the space — while a smaller meeting room might prefer fixed-size LED bundles or large flat-panel LCD and QLED displays. With a vibrant video wall, you not only improve team communication, but also underscore your brand with compelling visuals. Some integrated videoconferencing display solutions can be customized so workers can initiate meetings on their mobile device and push the content to office displays.
Interactive displays like Samsung’s Flip 2 series power more engaging and participatory meetings, where individuals joining from anywhere can share information and notate in real time. To manage meeting room bookings and occupancy, some organizations are adding small displays linked to scheduling systems, such as Samsung’s 13-inch display with integrated CR2 booking software. Meeting spaces
Applicable tech: The Wall for Business, LFD video wall, Cisco WebEx Room Kit Mini, Logitech videoconferencing solutions, conference room reservation systems, interactive displays
In server rooms and operations centers, wall-filling video walls may display environmental controls, live streams or key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive business. Supported by a suite of QHD and high-resolution monitors, employees can access multiple screens with the multiple views they need to do their jobs effectively. LED displays provide a seamless viewing experience — even on a curved monitor — while tiled LCD displays deliver super-high resolution, up to 8K.
Applicable tech: The Wall for Business, direct view LED, narrow bezel LCD video wall, Monitor suite (QHD, UHD, webcam monitor)
In-office displays help guide, inform and motivate staff. Many workplaces will be implementing shared workstations, or “hot desks” assigned on a first-come basis. Screens will be essential in explaining and guiding employees through the process, as well as locating available workstations.
High-traffic displays can also visualize real-time KPIs, such as sales or production markers, with data imported from management systems, and relay messaging (automated or curated) for everything from interoffice communication systems to positive social media posts.
Applicable tech: LCD, interactive LCD
Increasingly dynamic hybrid workplaces will have a varied mix of office setups — from workstations that are assigned to individual team members, to shared hot desk or “office hoteling” setups that are temporary by design. These temporary workstations can be managed by small displays linked to digital booking systems, allowing workers to secure a desk before they show up at the office.
Technologies like USB-C enable quick, streamlined connections from laptops to monitors. Using Samsung’s DeX technology, a visiting staffer can connect an enabled smartphone at a workstation and use it like a PC. The Flip 2 can roll between workstations as needed. Every adopted technical solution should be focused on boosting productivity and supporting collaboration.
Applicable tech: Flip 2 with a mobile stand, Monitor suite (QHD, UHD, webcam monitor), Samsung DeX
While a green screen can hide a dull or cluttered background for a video call, some companies are using super-fine-pitch LED video walls as the backdrop for a micro broadcast studio. With a solution like The Wall for Business, Samsung’s modular microLED display, companies are creating rooms that can serve as studios for everything from sales presentations to company-wide meetings or media interviews.
Applicable tech: The Wall for Business
WFH was already common pre-pandemic in a handful of industries, where workers had the space and technical setup to be productive. People who abruptly found themselves working remotely, however, had to adapt. Even working two to three days a week from home required a full workstation that fit their available space. Many people embraced the opportunity to work remotely, citing the benefits of a better work-life balance and not having to commute.
Global consulting firm PwC researched WFH, but found no consensus on the ideal balance of workdays spent at home and workdays spent in the office. “Over half of employees (55 percent) would prefer to be remote at least three days a week once pandemic concerns recede,” says the report, “little changed from the 59 percent who said the same in June. For their part, while most executives expect options for remote work, they are also worried about the effects: 68 percent say a typical employee should be in the office at least three days a week to maintain a distinct company culture.”
There are numerous challenges to at-home work, particularly for people living in cities, where apartments and condos tend not to have a lot of spare, unassigned space. But even workers living in the suburbs require a dedicated workspace. Some are realizing that the ergonomic chairs, standing desks and multiple monitors they left at the office could maximize comfort and productivity at the at-home office, too.
With limited room and particular job requirements, remote workers need the right supporting technology. Monitor selection, for example, can have huge benefits for productivity, workspace utilization and reducing desk clutter.
To ensure their remote staffers can be as productive as they would be in a formal office, some employers have given staffers allowances for workstation upgrades or let staffers expense them.
Here’s a snapshot of WFH productivity needs and available technology solutions:
For people fortunate enough to have spare room for a dedicated home office — with a door that can be shut and space to set up whatever technology the job demands — their workstation can be whatever it needs to be.
Daily multitaskers can opt for an ultra-wide, high-resolution monitor that allows them to view numerous apps at once. People working in operations or finances can daisy-chain multiple monitors and add a KVM switch to maintain line of sight into numerous items, in real time. Coders can set up one screen in portrait mode to see more lines of code, and then set up a second monitor in landscape to proof the output and run other apps.
For work that requires a lot of collaboration, sales meetings or presentations, reliable videoconference technologies such as high-quality cameras and audio equipment are essential. Samsung’s newest monitor (S40VA) has a built-in webcam, eliminating the hassle of finding a high-quality camera and setting it up separately.
For highly collaborative work that’s all about idea generation, planning and sharing, home offices can even be equipped with interactive whiteboards. Simple to use, and capable of storing and sharing files over networks, these whiteboards mirror those in the office. An architect, for instance, can sketch out an idea in their home office and share it on a screen at a main office, ready to be annotated or revised.
Applicable tech: Cisco WebEx Room Kit Mini, Logitech videoconferencing solutions, Monitor suite (QHD, UHD, webcam monitor), interactive displays
In smaller homes with limited available space, remote workers are making micro-offices out of everything from kitchen counters and dining room tables to bedroom corners, hallway nooks and closets.
These limited spaces put a premium on the dimensions and functions of work equipment. Samsung’s Smart Monitor series has a minimal physical footprint, folding flush against the wall when it’s not in use. The Smart Monitor and S Series monitors also include several options that support USB Type-C, which minimizes clutter by reducing peripheral desktop connections to a single, all-encompassing cable.
Samsung also offers DeX technology, a smartphone feature that allows it to function as a PC, just by connecting a keyboard, mouse and monitor.
Applicable tech: Smart Monitor, Samsung DeX
Shared offices or coworking spaces were well established before the pandemic as a means for startups to access the facilities, location and all the other trappings of a formal office, without the burden of high costs and long-term leases.
Companies like Industrious and Hana present an option for newly remote workers who don’t have the room at home to work productively, or who have small children or pets at home demanding their constant attention.
Other kinds of businesses, like sit-down restaurants, coffee shops and even hotels, have seen an opportunity to boost their revenues by converting some of their space, part time, to accommodate flexible working arrangements.
A downtown hotel can make rooms with desks available for short windows during the day, do a quick clean when people leave at 5 p.m. and then rent the room as normal for a new overnight guest. A restaurant focused on evening service probably has the comfortable seating, attractive decor and restrooms to host remote workers during the day — in what are otherwise empty rooms — and then convert back to normal operations in the evening.
Coffee shops, a longtime office for bootstrapped entrepreneurs, have started expanding and formalizing what they offer remote workers, such as better internet connectivity and access to amenities like printers, dedicated workspaces and membership models.
Here’s a snapshot of the technology that can support more comfortable productivity in shared workspaces:
As marketing billboards, LED displays take the place of conventional branding signs, now generating awareness or communicating information. A large LED display on a building’s facade can generate new business, while also introducing a new revenue stream in selling ad space to sponsors (directly or via media partners).
Applicable tech: Direct view LED messaging displays
In-window displays at street level alert passersby that they can work inside, advertising the available amenities and driving foot traffic. Those same displays can also run other marketing messages, scheduled in advance. For restaurants and other hospitality businesses, daytime messaging can be about the available workspace, and the late afternoon content may flip to dining menus and special promotions.
Applicable tech: High-brightness in-window LCD, LED signage
Up-to-date parking availability makes it easier for employees and office visitors to find a spot and get to work. Once they’re parked, interactive wayfinding signage shows them where they need to go.
Applicable tech: LED digital signage, interactive displays (indoor and outdoor)
First-time customers need guidance on how things work and what their first step should be. Displays at reception and in common areas can communicate this information, and provide additional guidance by explaining rates, rules and procedures. At reception in particular, The Wall for Business makes a lasting impression on visitors when you use it to showcase dynamic visuals and captivating messages about your brand. Status screens can also inform visitors of the availability and location of workstations or meeting spaces. Small hybrid displays manage health safety protocols by including functional add-ons like sanitizer dispensers or thermometers.
At restaurants and cafes, digital displays and a Samsung Pro TV can multitask on a schedule — advertising workplace solutions sometimes, and then promoting menu items and specials to boost the primary business and promote the brand. Areas like lobbies and wait lounges, even inside elevators, are also effective locations for screens that market revenue-generating services.
Applicable tech: LCD, QLED, social distancing solutions, The Wall for Business, Pro TV
In coworking spaces and office hoteling locations, desktop monitors are enticing, providing a more welcoming, productive working environment. Presented with QHD and UHD high-resolution monitors, workers can walk in and get right to work. If they have a DeX-enabled smartphone, they can opt to turn it into a PC just by connecting a monitor, keyboard and mouse — creating a truly flexible mobile work environment.
To reserve a workstation for the day, workers can turn to compact, 13-inch digital displays integrated with booking software. They can reserve an individual work area, a small meeting room or even check out equipment, such as the Flip 2 with a mobile stand.
Applicable tech: LCD and interactive LCD, Flip 2 with a mobile stand, Monitor suite (QHD, UHD, webcam monitor), Samsung DeX
A key attraction of more formal shared workspaces is the ability to meet with colleagues in appropriate surroundings, even if the individual remote worker or startup doesn’t otherwise have access to their own meeting spaces. In most scenarios, these rooms need a suite of products to support presentations and collaboration and make it easy for remote participants to contribute via videoconferencing. A larger meeting room might use a full LED video wall — custom-fitted to the dimensions of the space — while a smaller meeting room might prefer fixed-size LED bundles or large flat-panel LCD and QLED displays.
Interactive displays like the Flip 2 series power more engaging and participatory meetings.
Applicable tech: The Wall for Business, LFD video wall, Cisco WebEx Room Kit Mini, Logitech videoconferencing solutions, conference room reservation systems, interactive displays
Coffee shops and other public multipurpose workspaces rely on digital technology for everything from the menus — both for drinks and for office services — to ordering kiosks. Staff in these environments are often juggling several duties, so it’s especially important for them to be able to update on-screen messaging quickly, ideally while they’re on the go. Samsung’s Pro TV simplifies digital signage displays, combining them into an all-in-one screen with its content management controlled via a smartphone app. When you integrate these screens with booking software such as CR2, they can also be used to reserve individual desks and meeting rooms.
Screens located in and around work and meeting areas make users aware of available amenities — and these screens can drive community, promoting special events, as well as marketing partners and advertisers focused on startups and remote workers.
Applicable tech: LCD and interactive LCD (e.g., Flip 2), meeting room displays, Pro TV, Samsung Kiosk, digital menu boards, Monitor suite (QHD, UHD, webcam monitor)
Functional spaces like elevators and restrooms can be given additional purpose with digital displays. In the elevator lobby, a display can communicate the wait time, while a display in the elevator itself can share notices specific to the building.
In these high-traffic areas, digital signage can also remind people of health and safety guidelines, such as staying six feet away from others and wearing a mask in public spaces.
Applicable tech: Digital signage and 13-inch displays
While the idea of working without boundaries is now hyper-relevant, there’s also a huge sector of the working world that can’t shift to WFH or hybrid arrangements. Manufacturing, logistics, hospitality and healthcare are among numerous industries that can’t broadly accommodate remote work. In most cases, they’re environments where workers are steadily on the go and few have assigned workstations, because they’re actively working with guests, patients or machinery. These workers also tend not to have company-issued technology, such as laptops, phones or a business email address.
To communicate effectively with workers in these environments, digital signage is an invaluable tool, with displays thoughtfully positioned in break rooms, common areas and entryways, as well as active work zones.
Dining areas, rest areas and locker rooms use screens to relay important messaging from human resources, such as safety reminders, labor law changes and job postings. They also use the screens to celebrate employee milestones and company achievements. These screens can double as training tools — sharing on-demand refreshers on existing equipment and processes or introducing new ones. And with IPTV streaming, executives or other presenters can address staff remotely.
Applicable tech: LCD and QLED displays, interactive displays
Whether they’re manufacturing appliances or fulfilling online orders, production and logistics facilities are often cavernous, buzzing places that rely on live information updates to work as efficiently as possible. Thoughtfully positioned screens — tuned to the facility’s unique sightlines and dimensions — relay critical real-time data, imported from connected management systems. Dynamic visual charts and numeric information provides a steady snapshot of the KPIs that drive operating decisions and worker assignments.
Applicable tech: LCD and QLED displays, interactive displays, direct view LED
To manage and monitor the many moving parts of manufacturing hubs, medical settings and other intense work environments, these teams need a steady, accurate view of the state of their equipment and activities. Dashboards that used to live on one manager’s desktop can instead be shared and expanded on larger displays that are visible to everyone on the team.
At a factory or public utility company, that might be a fine-pitch LED video wall at the front of the main control room. In a healthcare setting, dry-erase whiteboards at nursing stations can be replaced by a large-format flat-panel display, auto-updated via the securely integrated patient management systems.
Applicable tech: LCD and QLED displays, interactive displays
No matter the location and working scenario, to equip workstations and in-office displays effectively, you should consider many different factors, including:
Interactivity: Display manufacturers, notably Samsung, have steadily made tools like interactive displays more intuitive and multidimensional. With products like the Flip 2 digital whiteboard series, the learning curve is minimal. Most people can use a Flip 2 without any training, and then easily save, share and retrieve their work.
Device portability: Some IT departments have shifted away from company-owned fleets of mandated laptops and other devices toward Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) — allowing employees to use their preferred monitors, laptops, smartphones and tablets. BYOD has made it more important than ever, particularly for a hybrid workplace, to have meeting and display technology that enables easy technical handshakes, file sharing and controls, while staying secure.
Visible canvas: Desktop monitors, interactive displays and digital signage are now available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to fit any workplace. Curved and widescreen UHD displays meet the needs of multitaskers and designers, while functions like daisy-chaining allow users such as control room operators and bond traders to view multiple screens at once.
High resolution: Full HD resolution is a baseline specification for modern workstation monitors and for digital signage around workplaces. But there’s increasing demands — and need — for 4K and even 8K resolution.
Specialty use cases like diagnostic imaging — for healthcare, research and industrial sectors like mining and energy — benefit immensely from higher-granularity visuals, as well as supporting color technology like High Dynamic Range (HDR).
High-speed connectivity: Most formal workplaces have long understood their high-speed broadband needs for the office, but the spike in videoconferencing has pushed the limits for people working at home or in shared workspaces. DSL and cable are out, fiber and 5G are in.
Cloud-based computing: Most dispersed workforces will need to rely on cloud-based management platforms that can be accessed from anywhere, from different kinds of devices.
Solid security: Company IT teams have lost security visibility in the shift to remote work. And when staff mix personal and corporate data, there are higher risks of data compromises like phishing attacks. IT also loses visibility when users are working at home and using services like file sharing, so having technology that’s secure by design, such as digital displays with the defense-grade enterprise security platform Samsung Knox built in, is more important than ever. In government offices and federal facilities, security and protection of agency data is of the utmost importance.
The concept of a new normal for workplaces has been widely discussed since health safety restrictions first shut down offices in March 2020. There are many different opinions, and endless survey-based research, but only time and experience will bring the answers.
What’s clear is that it’ll be different. And where there’s substantial change, effective communication is the best way to prevent confusion and frustration.
In the last few years, digital signage has emerged as an increasingly important new tool for business communicators and managers. The pandemic made timely, relevant and informative messaging even more important. Displays enabled communication and kept collaboration alive while workers dispersed — and it will continue to as we move forward.
