For years, forward-thinking employers have offered a choice of work spaces to match the varying levels of concentration and collaboration different tasks demand. And those spaces included employee’s homes. In March, all organisations were suddenly bounced by the COVID-19 restrictions into supporting homeworking for their office employees. It’s too early to say what lasting impact this will have on work patterns, though it’s a fair guess that the effective mass trial of remote working could trigger a cultural shift as more employers and employees see the benefits of using the home as an extension of the workplace, when it suits both parties. Research commissioned by BDG in April found that of 200 CEOs surveyed, almost one in four believes the long-term impact of COVID-19 will be “continued remote working”.
For now, though, the immediate priority must be to support people to continue to work healthily during the pandemic, whether it’s from their living rooms or as part of the contingent returning to offices because their tasks can’t be completed remotely. For that second category – people returning to shared office space – there are a whole new set of considerations that come with the need to avoid coronavirus transmission.
Desk sizes have shrunk in the past couple of decades and hotdesking schemes have further increased the number of people packed into offices. Adopted in the name of flexibility and space efficiency, these developments are suddenly at odds with the need to keep office users far enough apart to avoid virus spread. Most offices won’t be able to operate anywhere near full occupancy and still avoid congestion at pinch points such as lifts, reception areas and toilets.
Share desking arrangements will have to be suspended and individuals given fixed desks both to keep them safe but also to keep them feeling safe – maintaining productivity will rely on their perception that they are not being made vulnerable at work.
No broad brush
Recent government guidance on operating with the restrictions, gives only broad-brush suggestions on how to manage safe working in offices. To help fill in the detail, at BDG we have produced a guide for employers with specific advice on how a range of common office settings can be adapted to maintain safe distancing. Drawing on our database of 1.2 million data points on office use in practice, the Return to Work Guide illustrates how normal occupancy of the 14 most common desk layouts and other work settings, such as breakout areas and meeting spaces, could breach the two-metre minimum distance between users. It also sets out alternative seating plans to keep them safe without having to relocate the furniture.