Post pandemic changes to office working

Some of you will have been working from home, or furloughed, because of the Coronavirus lockdown and may soon be returning to office work.

The nature of offices is likely to have changed to ensure that employees who are needed to be present can be kept safe while there is as yet no vaccine against the virus.

Employers will have had to carry out risk assessments of their premises before they can invite employees to return.

While businesses may have realised that they can function perfectly well with some employees working remotely and may continue to do so, those who do need to be present will undoubtedly be provided with hand sanitiser equipment at every entrance.

It is possible that some businesses may also introduce temperature checks at their entrances.

Hot desking is unlikely to still operate and desks may be placed further apart and fitted with “sneeze screens” as a protection against possible infection since there is likely to be a proportion of colleagues who may be carriers of the virus without even knowing it.

It is even possible, if space permits, that the open-plan layout employees were used to before lockdown will have gone

The floors are likely to be marked with social distancing measures and there may be limits on when and how many people can use communal areas such as copiers, lounges, washrooms and coffee-making/kitchen areas.

According to Wired, the British Council of Offices released a briefing note on office design and operation after Covid-19. Among the suggestions were doors opening and closing automatically, reconfigured meeting rooms, enhanced fresh air and touch-free devices.

The workplace post pandemic is likely to be very different from the ones we were used to before.