How The Pandemic Is Changing Office Spaces
The pandemic has permanently changed the ways many of us live our lives. Even with the vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, it's become second nature to adopt behaviors that help reduce the spread of respiratory illness. These changes are reflected in the way we do business -- the novel coronavirus pandemic has made office spaces look and operate in a dramatically different fashion from the way they did just a few years ago.
Questioning the purpose of the modern office.
One of the biggest questions driving the trend in changing office spaces is deceptively simple: What is an office for? For the past thirty years, offices have been undergoing a quiet design revolution. People lost walls and doors to open floorplans, which were ostensibly intended to foster cooperation and creativity.
When the pandemic hit, we realized that the open floorplan was a little too good at facilitating something else: the transmission of a respiratory virus. People began to work from home as much as possible, and the lion's share of employers actually saw productivity increase. As it turns out, workers are able to get more done outside of the office than in it. This fact alone is the driving force behind many of the changes seen in today's office environments.
Changing the way we breathe.
One of the biggest changes the pandemic has brought is a re-imagining of what a healthy building looks, feels, and acts like. For years, the drive toward sustainability has pushed architects and building owners alike to seal doors and windows up as much as possible, maximizing energy efficiency. Now, we've come to realize that there has to be a very careful balance between energy efficiency and fresh air -- while it might not be very efficient to have to bring in, heat, and cool a lot of outdoor air, it's also vitally important for diluting airborne pathogens.
The same office plans that maximized HVAC efficiency ended up being an almost ideal environment for people to pick up viruses. This realization has changed the way people think of ventilation, and the way office buildings are being designed and renovated. More of them are including outdoor spaces whenever feasible, like indoor-outdoor mixed-use rooms, outdoor dining spaces, and even outdoor conference rooms.
Using touchless, durable materials.
Frequent sanitization wreaked havoc on a lot of conventional building materials. Surfaces that stood up to frequent touching didn't fare nearly as well when they had to be constantly scrubbed down with disinfectants, and the wear and tear shows. Newer designs are incorporating more durable materials into their construction, with an eye to easy deep-cleaning. Office buildings are also going touchless everywhere they can, from automatic door sensors to motion-sensing sinks, to voice-activated elevators.
Expanding the use of dining areas.
When employers realized that their employees were getting more work done from home, they realized something else, too -- telework can actually be cheaper and more sustainable. After the initial financing for new technology and teleworking software, businesses have found themselves spending less to heat, cool, and power offices that people aren't occupying. Many have chosen to continue to telework indefinitely, adopting a hybrid approach that allows employees to work from home, and hold meetings and presentations at the office.
With this in mind, some companies are downsizing their office space and reimagining their cafeterias. Dining areas are becoming a place where employees can work together, bond, get a change of scenery, and work in a way that suits their collaboration style. Most cafeterias have tables and chairs that are easily rearranged, and some have even been expanded to indoor/outdoor areas that let employees work in sunny, landscaped areas.
Making the office desirable.
There's one last big consideration that business owners have to deal with in a post-pandemic world. If their employees are getting more work done at home, and telework is going to continue -- what's going to attract them back to the office? Employees have new expectations about their work environment. That means that employers have to do more to meet these expectations.
Some are re-designing workspaces to more closely resemble coffee shops or libraries -- quiet, comfortable places where people can have some privacy, but still work collaboratively. Some have reimagined office furniture to include plush couches and chairs, mimicking the comforts people have been enjoying at home. Others are incorporating more biophilic elements into their buildings, increasing their attractiveness with plants and natural materials. The goal here is a space that's comfortable, fosters productivity, and suits employees with a range of working and collaborating styles.
The pandemic has taught us a lot about how our modern office spaces do and don't meet our needs. New offices will have to entice employees with the comforts of home, balance sustainability with good ventilation and flexible indoor/outdoor spaces, and understand where incorporate easy-to-sanitize materials and touchless fixtures. With these things in mind, employers can turn their vacant offices into thriving centers of innovation and collaboration.
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