One of the most significant disruptions that came with the pandemic would be working from home. With the unpredictable number of cases each day, businesses have had to adapt and make WFH the default.
However, what happens when the situation lightens up and we start returning to the office? To ensure the continued safety for all, offices need to adapt to the restrictions and redesign their office layout. Here are some ways that offices could change in response to the pandemic.
Health And Wellness Becomes A Priority
By now, wearing masks, frequent hand washing and sanitisation should not sound like foreign terms. In post-pandemic offices, this translates to an increased focus on hygiene standards, with many offices already making temperature-taking and check-in processes mandatory.
In addition, we will see sanitising stations planted throughout the office and an increase in the frequency of office cleaning and daily housekeeping. Split schedules, better air filtration systems and office desks spaced at least six feet apart will also become commonplace.
Employees will expect more health and wellness initiatives put in place, and businesses that go the extra mile will thrive post-pandemic.
Coworking Spaces Over Traditional Offices
With a quota imposed on the number of people sharing a space as part of social distancing, it is now common to see employees in the office on rotation. In this case, hot-desking and open-plan offices where employees are assigned a dedicated workstation will be favoured.
The post-pandemic workplace will see employees having a safe space to work privately while still having a spot to connect and brainstorm ideas and have meetings when required. For example, most startup office spaces feature more open-plan designs and common areas, emphasising creativity and collaboration.
Greater Flexibility
Having all the real estate is no longer necessary for businesses to run at their peak, and employees will enjoy greater flexibility to choose whether to work at home or in the office. As such, we will see more companies embracing a hybrid model, with staff working partially in person and partially from home.
Though still relatively uncommon, a distributed office space featuring a set of small office spaces scattered geographically offer employees the opportunity to work at an office nearest to their home. This can give businesses access to a larger pool of talents without fear of risking exposure to the transmission of COVID-19.
Renting a short-term office space allows for greater flexibility as well since they offer a range of spaces that cater to staff size including Flexi-desks and serviced offices.
Contactless Surfaces
More companies are experimenting with contactless touchpoints to eliminate the possibility of transmission through common surfaces. For example, instead of pressing a button on the remote control to activate a screen for a video conference, you could choose to fit the conference room with voice activation technology to control the various appliances such as the screens, projectors and even the lighting.
Many public areas are already seeing the use of a self-disinfecting coating to keep commonly-touched surfaces such as lift buttons clean, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to see them being employed in post-pandemic offices as well.
Conclusion
Post-pandemic offices are more than just mandatory mask-wearing or desks that are further apart. The office layout and infrastructure can also play an integral role in maintaining the health and safety of the employees. COVID-19 does not necessarily eliminate offices; instead, companies should focus on making offices conducive to keep up the overall productivity levels.
At Greenhub Singapore, we pride ourselves on offering a safe and conducive office environment for your employees, even amidst the pandemic. If you are looking for a small office for rent, do approach us and we would be happy to find you an option that best caters to your post-pandemic business needs.