We’re told that some social distancing requirements might stay in place for good. Does this herald the end of the knuckle crusher, the power play and wet fish handshake? Maybe we can say good bye forever to the awkward dance of extended hand versus assumed peck. If the handshake originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that the hand holds no weapon, now is the perfect time to evolve to a playful elbow touch, jaunty salute or even just a smile, as a way of starting and ending our face to face interactions.
What else might change in the short and long term has already been widely debated, from the (unlikely) end of the office as we know it, to the rise of co-working spaces at shopping centres, but as we ease back to work and life beyond our homes, we think there might be some interesting outcomes, with a lot less of some things and more of others.
MORE flexibility. The Genie is out of the bottle. Now that we’ve all experienced working from home those who simply like it or need it (to better fit with their full life commitments) will be insisting that they have increased opportunity to work where and when it suits them. This will lead to the rise of flexible employment models, with varying hours and location of work, dealt with on a case by case basis. The logical outcome is the reduction in need for “office space” as we know it. But don’t rush to assume the office is a relic of the past. Good workplace design is already much less about desks & offices and much more about creation of a destination; one that fosters collaboration, knowledge sharing and creating a magnet to bring staff together (occasionally). The role of work in creating a sense of purpose and belonging has never been more obvious.
MORE choice. The rise of the “the third place” (co-working spaces) has exploded over recent years as the ‘consultant’ workforce grows. With uncertain revenues it’s unlikely that businesses will invest in creating regional or suburban offices (a Hub & Spoke model), but could accommodate staff who want to avoid a city commute, to work and connect with others within these flexible spaces. The current roadblock to this is that generally these co-working spaces are located in the city or city-fringe. Maybe it’s time for these providers to look to large suburban hubs but importantly to rethink their space models. In this new era of maintaining social distance for health and wellbeing, a density of 6-8m2 per person just isn’t going to work.
LESS individual offices and more collaboration spaces. Humans are herd animals. If the only reason people are coming to the office is to see other people, collaborate and share information, then what’s the point of having people locked away in individual offices. It’s also important to remember that not everyone is loving this isolationist model. Many will be rushing to re-engage but the old model of oversight by an office dwelling Manager is old thinking. Organisations that are likely to thrive post COVID-19 are those that embrace flexibility and collaboration and those that create a work life that fits our full life, in non-hierarchy workplaces that are more connected to the community. Technology will be important to effectively link the office with those that aren’t physically present with high quality vision and audio. Here’s hoping the NBN is up for this.
MORE focus on wellness. “Wellness” has been part of quality workplace design for some time but the obvious health linkage will be bought to the top of the list. Employers will only get staff back into the office if they can provide ‘safe’ and healthy workplaces. High density environments and ‘shared’ desk models might need a rethink. This current situation has highlighted that work provides us with an important sense of purpose and social connection, which are key to positive mental health.
MORE trust. It’s clear that we can all get work done without direct supervision. Teams have organically connected when they need to and we think this more grown up approach might last. This will hopefully support the request for more flexibility which might have previously been met with a “NO” simply because Managers couldn’t imagine a new way of working.
MORE sense of community. We’re all in this together and this event has given many a real sense of being part of the greater community. Individuals and companies alike are doing things that really matter (both locally and globally), being more open to caring for others and just showing more consideration of individual circumstances. We think (and hope) this might be a re-set leading to more fairness and social responsibility.
Ultimately #WFH isn’t ground-breaking. This crisis has exponentially increased the uptake of what has been happening for some time and what employees have been asking for. Large scale social and economic change will drive long term change in work patterns and workplace design. We hope this crisis creates a re-set for some positive change to drive productivity, health and happiness. Luckily, we are problem solvers and can’t wait for the challenge of finding innovative solutions for whatever the future requirements might be.
Words by Sally Macnaughton