The Changing Nature of Work and Office Space

In a recent article published on BBC Worklife, “How offices will change after the coronavirus”, Jessica Mudditt describes how offices in the future might evolve to new rules for workplace hygiene.

“Experts suggest this could involve a combination of short-term fixes aimed at boosting worker confidence, reducing the number of staff in the office at any one time and longer-term design upgrades and modifications that put hygiene at the heart of workplace planning. “

In Ontario, the phased-in return to work has many business owners wondering how to re-open and get people back into the office.

As Jessica states in her article, there are many protocols and ideas being put forward, none of which solves in its entirety the potential exposure to viruses, but each contributes to reducing the overall risk. For example, the following short-term and longer-term fixes are being considered by business owners, office designers, etc.

1. Return to the cubicle - will open office space decline? Previously, workstations were about privacy and acoustics, but now they offer a physical separation that many employees may feel more comfortable with.  
2. Flexible work locations. Even with offices being allowed to re-open, many employees that can work from home will want to, both for lifestyle convenience and to avoid commuting. Jessica writes, “A staggered workforce may become standard, with smaller groups coming in on alternate days and shifts that avoid transport rush-hour peaks.” In addition, companies may subsidise home offices as they are now viewed as legitimate workspace.
3. New touch-less fixtures. With hygiene in mind, future offices could eliminate communal kitchens and install touch-less, voice-activated devices to control lighting, audio and visual equipment.

It is likely that short-term solutions will rely on government advice for protocols, and long-term solutions that require a company to invest in new office furniture and design will slowly follow, as trends become increasingly clear.

However, one trend that is having an impact now, and in the foreseeable future is working from home.  Most companies were thrown into a new model of working completely unprepared, and now that the way out of lockdown is a path of incremental changes - many businesses will continue working from home or establish a partial opening of the office. The new ‘norm’ could well be a hybrid of working from home and working in an office environment.

When you think about it, the megatrend is likely to be a mobile employee who can pick-up and relocate from the office to a non-office space every few days or so.

If processes and communication channels are working well, then the other component to make this successful is to have the right technology in place, both physical devices such as employee laptops and printers, and technology solutions such as cloud computing and networking.

Businesses new to working from home have been finding a way to manage, but in the mid to long-term, a virtual office model needs a robust security system, document management system, and compatible and connected equipment.

We can help with that. OT Group has expertise in designing virtual and remote work environments, taking into account a company’s existing infrastructure and office equipment. We can audit what you currently have, and design a framework for working remotely that can better support your business now and in the future.