We’re living in one of the most challenging times in the face of the business industry of our times, where none of the pre-pandemic set of rules works anymore. As millions of employees working from their homes get more and more anxious in the context of returning to their workplaces, business owners now face a daunting task of refiguring out the safety protocols, interior designs, and more. There’s no denying that at some point we will move past the COVID-19 pandemic, and it may even begin to take place as soon as the vaccines are ready. The question is, what will offices look like?
Interestingly, more and more companies have risen to the occasion and have come up with effective ways in which offices would no longer be a shared, open space. Offices post COVID-19 may see a return in the cabin designs, glass barriers for limiting the spread of viruses, and even transparent screens – all of which take us several decades back as office designs go.
Here’s how a regular office day would look like for an employee post-COVID 19:
1. Mobile and less-social interiors – No Water Cooler conversations
Because of the health safety standards, workplaces will now have less capacity, and there will be standing desks for employees for giving them the liberty to take their work with them. However, expect more barriers at the water cooler or coffee vending machine for minimal social interaction and risking the spread of infections. For more privacy-based works or brainstorming sessions, there’d be personal pods or cabins assigned to dedicated employees as the session happens virtually.
It may feel overwhelming and too mechanical given the socially distant office surroundings, companies may host interactive sessions or training to keep up the strong connectivity inside a physical space.
2. Remote and working from office – A bit of both
Gone will be the days when foosball tables or open cafes were a part of the office vibe for helping employees to unwind. In fact, in a post-pandemic era business owners will encourage employees to work remotely at least for a few days a week, and provide constant support to their remote workers as well. Brands like Shopify have provided employees with an additional allowance to take care of their office peripheral requirements at home.
Additionally, since employees would be working remote more frequently than ever, the companies would offer them mental and physical health programs to keep them fit and engaged. Buffer’s 2019 State of Remote Work report says that more than 19% of remote workers feel loneliness at work, therefore employers would put more effort into keeping their productivity unharmed.
3. Flexible and cost-effective office in the suburbs
Many employers would rethink their already existing footprint and choose locations that facilitate talent acquisition, collaboration, and are less densely populated. It can be achieved when companies set up flexible offices with flexible lease options to save efficiently on rent, management, and capital costs. According to McKinsey’s report, the figures for work hours from a physical office will decrease by over 3%, the numbers for working from home or suburban centers would increase by 7%.
Therefore, in a post-COVID-19 world, you may find yourself walking into quick and custom-fit-office spaces in the outskirts for avoiding overcrowding and limiting real estate costs.
4. Impressive technology-enabled experience
Not just in terms of work procedures and communication channels, post-COVID-19 offices will have high-tech functionalities giving a minimalist look and feel while taking care of your hand hygiene. Doors would be motion-sensitive, keyless entries, motion-sensitive sanitizer dispenser, face or eye scanning biometrics, arrows on the surface to keep you maintaining social distancing at all times. For the smart offices, workplace safety and indoor maps technology becomes more popular in order to create a safer workplace, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Be it a video conference, client service one-on-one sessions, or even just a group chat, employees are more likely to be ‘chat literate’ and understand the difference between ‘yes’, ‘yes.’, and ‘yes..?’. Also, for the IT frontline technicians, their work would be extremely crucial in keeping things working at normality, and producing the expected yield. They may also use new and powerful tools to assist employees to resolve any software issues while they’re working remotely. If you want to know about LMS, you can visit this site Non Profit LMS.
Conclusion
Though post-COVID-19 pandemic may seem dystopian right now, offices worldwide would be far from it. In fact, post to this revolutionizing event, employers are more likely to build trustworthy and positive workspaces, breaking from the past inertia of the concept around offices. It would not only create a massive shift in the productivity and wellbeing of their employees but also give a great boost to reinvention and smart savings on capital expenses. Coworking spaces in Kolkata like Zioks provide such innovative and pandemic proof coworking spaces that help coworkers to connect, collaborate, and contribute without risking social distancing protocols. If you’d like to know more about how coworking spaces are evolving through the pandemic, you may also find their blog an interesting read.