Five Ways COVID-19 is Changing Office Space

Many companies are unwilling to switch to a work-from-home structure. The nature of some companies requires that a large percentage of the workforce has to be in the physical office. There have been reports that show that social isolation disrupts employee productivity. In research carried out by Gallup, it was discovered that employee loneliness is directly correlated to company performance. This was the conclusion after Gallup examined almost 2 million employees in 73 countries. Business owners are wary of the potential changes that may take place in the office space. Here are five ways COVID-19 is changing office space:

1. Less Reliance on the Employee-to-Space Ratio

For decades, the standard office structure has been the employee-to-space ratio. However, something new is emerging; and, it is the shift towards the “hybrid” work-life model. There has been lots of news on the future of the office space and whether there will be a permanent shift towards the remote work model. However, the hybrid model seems to be an emerging sustainable model. The hybrid model will be an office setup that is fully integrated with technology. Emerging technologies like Big Data will help in acquiring all the workplace data needed to truly understand what is happening in the workplace and help in reconnecting employees. In the past decades, companies have adopted corner offices, cubicles, and sleep pods. With Big Data, the workspace will be restructured to make employees are happier, healthier and more productive.

2. More Signs

To further enhance safety, there will be a lot of signs in the office space. For instance, there may be visual instructions on the floors and walls of our offices, as well as circles around desks to lanes in corridors. In addition, there may be movement instructions that will enable one-way flow to minimize transmission of COVID-19 (this is a current practice being adopted by many hospitals).

3. Contactless Office

One more way COVID-19 is changing the office space is the emergence of the ‘contactless office’ For companies that can afford it, employees will no longer need to press communal buttons. Instead, they can operate the elevator or staff coffee machine by using their smartphones. In addition, automation may be deployed in the kitchen to replace self-service; and, conference rooms could have voice-activated technologies to control lighting, audio, and visual equipment.

4. Simple Solutions

In addition to the obvious solutions like hand sanitizer, many companies will be looking for simple solutions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Some companies already ask employees to use a paper placemat for their desk. The paper is disposed at the end of the day, in a move to mitigate transmission.

5. Closed Plan

For several decades, companies have favored open-plan working space. The pandemic could begin a reversal to a closed-plan future. This does not necessarily mean that office will look like the 1950s cellular cubicles. Rather, there will be a change in density in offices. In addition, since employees will no longer sit close to each other, there will be a change in the shape of office furniture.