The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world in many ways. While challenges continue to crop up every day, there will be more once life crawls back to normal. A crucial sector which needs to identify these challenges and seek immediate solutions is workplaces. Offices can turn into virus hotspots if due diligence and care are not followed. Businesses have to take measures to ensure the safety of their workers and alter and adapt their workplaces as per the new safety regulations, including social distancing, sanitised environment and more.
9 Steps to Redesigning Workplaces After COVID-19
Here are some of the ways offices will have to (many already have) change their design to welcome the new normal!
‘Physically-distanced’ workplaces
Employers will have to look at altering layouts that adhere to the mandatory six feet rule. This practice will make your employees feel safe, and they will be able to focus on their work without any worries.
For some time, offices will have to offer flexible working hours to their employees, so there is less staff at work in offices. It will help to follow physical distancing more effectively. Changes will also be needed in the layout of furniture and equipment. Office desks either have to be smaller to accommodate a single person at a time or the desks have to be larger where three or four people can work at a time and still maintain the six feet distance.
Another new inclusion in workplaces is ‘workstation enclosures’ which will have transparent screening panels. Such spaces serve dual purposes – one is to ensure the safety of workers, and the other is to help them see each other and interact.
Minimal work desks or desks with minimal equipment are also the new normal as offices encourage employees to come to the office with their personal laptops, tablets, etc. It will prevent the hassle of sanitising the equipment after office-hours and also limit the number of electrical wires.
Distance markers will be an integral part
Social distancing rules are still essential, and hence, offices will have to devise ways to reaffirm the rules. Signs and markings, hence, seem to be an essential part of office design. Cues, floor markings, stickers, standing spots, etc., to remind employees to adhere to the physical distancing will help in ensuring safety. Perhaps, the floors and walls will be covered with visual instructions rather than accessories.
Use of technology to create contactless workspaces
Many offices worldwide have already shifted to ‘contactless pathways’ to avoid touching the building with hands to move around. It will help to reduce virus transmission if offices incorporate contactless technologies. Motion sensors, voice technology, facial recognition, doorless bathroom entry mechanisms, touchless switches, automation and more, are helping offices work seamlessly without having to worry about virus spread.
The use of smartphone apps which can operate lifts and coffee machines are also proving to be popular in workplaces. Many businesses also prefer to use Amazon Alex for Business to aid contactless functioning.
Open floor plans work well
Open office spaces were a trend before COVID-19, and it will continue to be so post-COVID as well, but there is also a group that expresses doubts about the efficacy of open spaces in fighting the virus. They fear that the large volume of shared air may facilitate virus transmission than prevent it. Also, the open plan may be challenging for physical distancing.
While the cons may be a few, the pros are many. For one, cleaning and disinfecting open spaces is easier. The open plan also reduces the need to have many door handles, knobs, walls, etc., which means there are fewer surfaces with a risk of being touched by hand. Open plan can also facilitate more ventilation. In offices where it is possible to keep windows open, it will help in better airflow and reduce the need to have air conditioners.
Advanced airflow systems can help in filtering exhaled air and prevent contamination. Vents placed on the top of the rooms to help push out exhaled air and bring inside filtered air too could be a great solution.
Cubicles too set to return
While this may sound as a contrast, it is not just open layouts that are getting popular but also cubicles. It depends on the kind of space and the function of the business, which makes designers create suitable workplaces, open or enclosed. Cubicles were once aimed at encouraging meaningful interaction and personalisation, but now they are getting popular for distancing and ensuring safety!
Some offices are putting up barriers between desks such as transparent plexiglass not just in between work desks but also in between sinks. So, the new design may not be the traditional cubicles but separate places created by installing barriers made from easy-to-clean and maintain materials.
The new face of conference rooms
While some offices are doing away with conference rooms, many may still need a dedicated space to hold meetings or communicate with remote employees. The claustrophobic rooms with many chairs and equipment will no longer work, and hence a new design for conference rooms will be needed. An idea that is working for many offices is smaller conference rooms fit for two or three people who can work while maintaining social distance.
Rethinking furniture designs post-COVID
Simplistic designs in furniture and those easy to clean and sanitise will be the apt additions to the workplace. Rather than style and trend, what offices will focus on is lightweight and flexible furniture with simple lines as they will be easier to move and sanitise. Fabrics, curtains, carpet, upholstery, accessories, etc., tend to attract dust and allergens, and now, they are the favoured places for viruses, as well. The post-COVID designs will now focus on innovative materials that are less likely to accumulate dust and germs. Natural materials will be more in demand as a sustainable environment becomes a necessity for a healthier atmosphere.
Easy to clean fabrics such as microfibres are best suited for a post-COVID office as all you need is wipe it with a damp cloth and some alcohol to ensure they are clean. Another trend is about self-cleaning materials such as nanoseptic materials which can create oxidation reactions stronger than any harsh cleaning products.
Ditto for finishes! Antimicrobial and easier to clean finishes will be preferred rather than stylish and modern finishes.
Offices, thus, will have to opt for functional, innovative and convenient furniture than trends and styles.
Designs that prioritise interior air quality
The new office designs have to devise ways to increase air quality because it is a potent safeguard against bacterial and virus infections. Already, around the world, innovative and advanced ventilation and air purifying systems have replaced the older technology. Increasing air quality will not be the sole purpose, but systems that check and fix air quality will also be in demand.
Air conditioners will also see major re-engineering to prevent contamination and community infection. Instead of centralised air conditioning, zone-wise air conditioning will be required. Air filters such as HEPA or High-efficiency Particulate Air Filters that come with high-powered ultraviolet light units will be an essential element in offices, as they can kill bacteria and viruses.
Welcome biophilic design for overall well-being
Biophilia means ‘love and affinity towards nature’. Studies have established that humans have a natural attraction to their natural surroundings. You feel better, rejuvenated and happier when you are amidst nature. The fresh air is also a reason you feel energetic and calm. The coronavirus crisis has reinforced the need for fresh and pure air in our lives. No matter what advanced air purifiers you have, natural air purifying capacity of nature cannot be undermined.
Biophilic design, bringing outdoors inside, will be the apt addition to offices now. It will also help in environmental protection and to reduce air pollution. Green walls, air-purifying plants, garden offices, terrace gardens, are the ways to go! If earlier, nature was made a part of office design via a couple of plants here and there, now the offices will be set inside a biological world!
The role reversal is here to stay! As the focus is on maintaining the physical and emotional well-being of employees more than ever, biophilic designs will not just create a purer and cleaner air, but will also help in promoting better mental health.
The life after COVID 19 will not be a sudden shift to normal. Workplaces have to exercise caution and care for some time. The best part of the redesigned workplaces is that they will contribute to better health of employees through enhanced air quality, more hygiene, advanced sanitisation facilities, soothing sustainable designs and more. If we are lucky to be back in a world where the coronavirus fear disappears completely, these re-imagined office designs should stay! It will be perhaps the best ROI systems for businesses!
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