With such a high amount of people having to work from home during the pandemic, reliance on traditional office use is no longer a reality for many businesses. Even once the world has somewhat healed from this global disaster, most businesses will need to protect themselves from this kind of occurrence happening again.
Luckily, there are many options that can ensure a dedicated working space is available for employees without the need for a traditional office setup. Let’s take a look at five of them:
1. A Serviced Office
Rather than holding a permanent office contract, some businesses may choose to use serviced offices. This provides a convenient option for employees to use the facilities as and when it is appropriate, all with the management and high-level cleaning provided by the serviced office company keeping things safe. It’s a convenient option for companies who need no true permanence when it comes to their office space.
2. Pods & Cubicles
There may be a return to traditional cubicle offices where employees are separated with screens. These screens could contribute to a segregational system that helps reduce social contact, whilst maintaining staff capacity.
Even more extreme (or innovative, depending on your opinion) are airtight pods being actively praised for a post-pandemic world following the unveiling of an award-winning design by architect Mohamed Radwan. They are as they sound – compact and airtight pods where a person is able to work within their office but in their own completely sealed unit.
3. Home Offices
The home office will become a permanent reality for many people post-pandemic. Some businesses will allow employees to work from home all of the time. Some 2 million Americans also chose to go freelance during the pandemic, which has pushed the portion of the freelance workforce in America alone to 36%. The home office is a convenient reality for those people too.
4. Remote Working 50% Of The Time
It is estimated that of those who have been able to work from home during the pandemic, around 25%-30% will continue to work from home some of the time. Many companies are working towards a split rota system, which brings in half the amount of workers at any one time, allowing the other half to work from home.
This split system not only continues the flexibility of remote working for workers who enjoy it, but it also enables social distancing in the office. Essentially, it is a way to maintain office working, just with a lower office occupancy day to day.
5. Newly Designed Offices
Exactly how offices will be different post-pandemic is not something that can be predicted. What we can do is speculate on some of the changes that might happen. Some of the ideas being floated include traffic light systems with common areas, temperature checks, and signage.
Those kinds of changes reflect an acute response to a present virus. However, in the event of a successful vaccine, they may be replaced by an overall lower occupancy, higher health, and hygiene awareness, and much broader desk spacing.
A Post-Pandemic World Will Demand A Different Way Of Working
Such a huge global situation is bound to change life in many different ways. Whilst we cannot know exactly what a post-pandemic office will entail at the moment, we do know that there are many innovative options emerging, including those listed above. With a willingness to adapt, businesses can work not just in a different way, but in a better way than they did before.