Health officials have been warning us for months that Covid-19 isn’t about to go away anytime soon and instead, it’s much more likely to become endemic. Endemic means the constant presence of a disease, so we are going to have to learn to live in an endemic world. Moving from pandemic to endemic sounds like we are moving in the right direction, however it’s still not the normal reality we were used to before 2019.
So as the UK Government is preparing us to return to the office with England having already changed its advice on home working and Scotland due follow suit in February, what should “back to the office” in an endemic world look like?
For organisations to develop a robust, compliant, & adaptable “back to the office” programme that follows the latest attitudes, trends & everchanging guidelines, we need to answer three key questions.
Is returning to the office the right thing to do and is the timing right for the business & our employees?
How do we go the extra mile to keep employees & clients safe? As restrictions relax, we need to think differently about how we plan & use our workspaces to make sure that they provide the most effective & safe environment.
Do our employees want to get back to the office? The pandemic has shifted attitudes to work & place, with many people now wanting more autonomy & flexibility. This change is driving people to consider their options. Statistics show that resignations have increased sharply as people look to improve their work & life balance.
It is important to take this opportunity to develop a work environment that is not only Covid-19 safe, but is also fit for the future. Offering a more flexible hybrid working approach seems for many organisations the way forward. Offering more autonomy and flexibility is often rewarded with improved productivity and commitment. Recruiting and retaining staff also becomes easier.
Pre-pandemic, we designed our workspaces to support agility and collaboration in the hope of fuelling innovation and creativity. From an economic point of view efficiency & high utilisation have always been key to effective workspace management. These models now pose challenges as businesses continue to have responsibility for their employee’s safety.
As the UK Government start to relax restrictions, we must consider these five workplace challenges:
- Occupancy & utilisation need to be measured by different criteria. Fully occupied & utilised buildings are no longer desirable or effective.
- Real Estate needs may change as organisations move towards a New Work model.
- Internal traffic management & workflow become more important as ways to manage the workspace.
- Employee attitudes & wellbeing now become paramount in the design & layout of our workspaces.
- Offices in the future, must be more inviting so that employees want to come to the office. We need to reshape the workspace offering more social spaces that encourage and foster face to face collaboration, creativity and passive interactions.
Technology can play a key role in making our workspaces safer & more effective places to work. There are several applications that manage and track access & occupancy numbers within buildings & allow employees to book desks and meeting rooms. Many can also confirm the employees’ health & vaccination status.
Collaboration and communication technology has developed incredibly over the last two years in response to the pandemic, allowing remote workers to connect with those in & out of the office. As with all technology it is essential to first focus on your people & the way they connect & then shape the digital collaboration tools to suit.