“Coronavirus may change work forever.” – Financial Times, May 2020
A great deal has been written about Covid-19 and its effect on business operations and workspaces. What is evident is that the corporate workplace landscape will never be the same again.
Work From Home has now obtained its own acronym – WFH – resulting in the likes of a large clothing retailer, American Giant, to capitalise on this opportunity and develop WFH pants. (These pants are designed to allow the user to seamlessly move from a home office environment to walking the dog – as an example.) As lockdown eases and people return to “Work From Work”, there are functional changes to consider. Amongst others, these include:
- Regulated distances between workers in open-plan offices
- Scanning and sensor testing of staff members before arriving at work.
- Hand sanitisers and hygiene protocols
- Operational changes in occupancy and business operations
- Access and circulation routes through the office
- Changes in the use of meeting spaces
- Face mask best practice
- Physical building system upgrades and alterations to minimise potential virus spread.
CNBC is even reporting the rise of a new role or function within business: a Chief of Health and Wellbeing, who will monitor compliance with these new protocols. Through all of this, and as the world of work continuously changes, it is clear that people still need somewhere to work from and the work place will matter now more than ever.
