From home offices to dining room tables and spare bedrooms, many post-Covid office environments looked much different this year. The shift to remote work highlighted the importance of flexibility, but it also reiterated the value of physical office space. Many clients and partners took immediate action to support virtual collaboration while simultaneously adjusting workspaces to ensure safety in the near-term as some employees slowly returned.
Why Maintain or Build Office Space?
The short answerย is,ย it comes down to people.ย While weโand many companiesโareย equipped to work remotely, the office environment supports many things that can only be done with daily, face-to-face interaction.โฏย We need toย growย and nurture are people to develop.ย Part of that nurturing means improving the culture as well, so toย keepย ourย most valuable resource engaged, challenged and fulfilled, culture must be maintained.โฏ From top to bottom, our clients and design partnersย have concernsย about โslippageโ of the culture that has taken years to create.ย Itโs the culture that drives teamwork, collaboration, and innovation. The ability toย walkย down the hall to a team memberโs officeย to problem solve or discuss ideasย drives creativityย and improves theย focus to push to the most desired results.ย This is the driving factor for clients and owners in building and bringing employees back to physical offices. The challenge for clients and owners is how to do so safely now and in the future.
Immediate Solutions for Increased Safety
Increasing the safety in offices in theย immediateย termย canย include spacing and updating protocols. Simple solutions such asย increasedย signage,ย seating facing the same direction to reduce face-to face exposure andย limiting public and collaboration space capacityย immediately alleviate density within the office.
Clear signage on a circulation plan, room capacity, or new processes are simple,ย cost-effective ways to promote a healthy and safe work environment.ย With a consistent planย to get from point A to point B throughout the buildingย whileย maintainingย socialย distancing through one-way movementย has proven to be very helpful.
Properly spacing isย aย critical first step, but equally as important is stoppingย furtherย spread of the virus.ย Throughย cleaning protocols and touchless technology, organizationsย are able toย mitigate potential exposures. The first line of defense once again comes back to people practicingย personal responsibility.ย While most have become accustomedย to the new pandemic norm, providing easy accessย toย masks, hand washingย stations,ย andย signage reminders to promote healthy behaviors are all simple ways to promote personal responsibility.
In addition, focusing on previously contact heavy spots and making them touch free is a simple way to reduce transmission. While some changes are slightly more capital intensive, most are not.โฏ Foot pedals for doors, touch free water and coffee distribution and AV connectivity/usage are a few simple and very cost-effective ways to eliminate common touch points. Whenย we can eliminate touch points passively, we need to actively make our common touch point surfaces clean and safe. Wiping down surfaces is not difficult, but visibility and communication of the plan while displaying the accountability of housekeeping staff creates a mentally healthy environment for employees.
The Future of Corporate Environments
Sinceย early on in theย pandemic, the design community has been diving into what changes need to be made. Fortunately, many of the identified items have been able to be incorporated into active and current office layouts.โฏ There are also a handful of items that will be a design focus moving forward.
Todayโs open work environment is not conducive. Furniture layout and the mix of open / closed offices will need to be reviewed with each organizationโsย workflowย and requirements to create aย work placeย that maintains 6โ of physical distancing for allย work spaces. The potential offset ofย requiredย added square footageย per employeeย without adding total square footage will needย be reviewed and potentially off set by reducing the total number ofย workspacesย required.โฏ Alternating work start timesย andย flex schedules (hoteling), supported with proper cleaning protocolsย mayย allow the same size building to service the same number of employees.
Meeting andย learningย spacesย will be adjusted as well.ย This change should be welcomed by us all.โฏ Nobody likes beingย elbowย to elbow in an enclosed conference room.โฏ Incorporating open collaboration rooms, hybrid in person / virtual environments and furniture configuration will allow teams to meet face to face when necessary to promote collaboration and maintain organizational culture.
Controlling air born contaminants will be critical to the reduction of contamination. This is achieved in two steps:
- Active HVAC systems โ Designing systems that can be zoned first and filtered second is the key to making this work.โฏ The technology has been here for years, but the deployment ofย state-of-the-artย systems are not the mostย cost-effectiveย solutions.โฏ Retrofitting is also somewhat challenging as the relocation of ductwork and filtration systems will likely require disruption of theย workplace.
- Air Quality Measurement Systems โ Once the tools are in place to treat the building environment, monitoring and tracking will be key. Using smart building technology, the ability to monitor and communicate to building managers will allow to detect a potential solution prior toย thereย being an issue caused by poor air quality
- Revised Entry Procedures โ While employees who come to their building every day will understand new protocols and design put in place to create a healthy work environment, future design will have to accommodate daily visitors and guests.
- Lobby design will be very critical to the success of a healthy work environment. From vestibules with touchless entrance,ย screening and sanitizationย facilitation, to layouts with direct connectivity to horizontal and vertical circulation (with air filtration and touch free activation), all potential tools and design thought will need toย reviewedย with how a building operates to maximize a healthy and safe work environment
- The area for deliveries, food service,ย and 3rdย party servicesย is one that isย oftenย overlookedย byย manyย employees, but itย is an area thatย requiresย special attention.โฏThe back-of-house areas see the highest influx of people that can generate cross-contamination in a building.โฏ Many of the same requirements ofย the new entrance lobbiesย as well as other operational protocols will need toย implementedย there as well.
Better Together
Employees across all industries have not only adjusted to remote work, butย many areย also accustomed to the new routine. But the tangible benefits of returning to officesย cannot be replaced by virtual meetings or conference calls. We believe at JE Dunn that we are better togetherโfor the relationships, training, skills, and cultureย that are fostered in person.ย With safety at the forefront, we believe offices and corporate environments are well poised toย return and meet employeesโ changing needs better than ever.
