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What a Post-Pandemic Workplace Might Look Like
November 17, 2021 at 6:30 PM
by Mamathaa Hemanth
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Physical offices have fallen in leagues as they need to make changes in workplace practices in a post-pandemic economy. Discussion about workplace evolution is all over social media. Never has the intersection of office space and function been so interconnected with the very real competition for talent. We at Archslate couldn't miss the opportunity to include our input on the same and thus here are some changes we think will revolutionize workplaces in the post-pandemic world.

What Changes in a Post-Pandemic Workplace Might Look Like

1. Giving people reasons to return to their workplaces

2. Re-imagine the Workplace to Support Organizational Priorities

3. Resize the Footprint Creatively

4. Environmental Issues

1. Giving People Reasons to Return to their Workplaces

One of the key reasons employees can be motivated to work may be because they have a people-centered design as well as an inspiring ambition to become one of the leading names in workplace design. Firms need a more organic approach, post-COVID, and would need to provide reasons for their employees wanting to come into the office; otherwise, people will often prefer to just work from home and avoid the physical strain of offline work, commuting e.tc.

In surveys carried out by experts, it was seen that the main reason for wanting to come back to a workspace was social interaction and the ability to better communicate, such as being able to pick up on body language and other social cues. During the Pre-COVID world, it was typically the finance team that was necessary to have in the office, but they now find they can work perfectly well from home; it is the likes of marketing and design teams that want to come back to collaborate.

2. Re-imagine the Workplace to Support Organizational Priorities

We all know how a typical workplace looks: few private offices and cubicles, with meeting rooms, pantries, and shared amenities. Offices are intentionally designed to support specific organizational priorities. Although offices have changed in some ways during the past decade, they may need to be entirely rethought and transformed for a post–COVID-19 world.

To maintain productivity, collaboration, and learning and to preserve the corporate culture, the boundaries between being physically in the office and out of the office must collapse. In-office video conferencing can no longer involve a group of people staring at one another around a table while others watch from a screen on the side, without being able to participate effectively. Always-on videoconferencing, seamless in-person and remote collaboration spaces (such as virtual whiteboards), and asynchronous collaboration and working models can quickly shift from futuristic ideas to standard practice.

3. Resize the Footprint Creatively

There is a need for a transformative approach to reinventing offices. Instead of slowly adjusting their existing footprint, companies are renewing the amount and location of space they need and how this facilitates the results they need for collaboration, productivity, culture, and work experience.

Such an approach also raises questions about where to place the firm. Some companies will continue to have them in big cities. Many companies consider it important to attract young talent and create a sense of connection and energy. Other firms may also give up on major city headquarters to maintain a suburban campus.

In any case, future transformations will use a portfolio of space solutions such as unique spaces, standard rental contracts, flexible rental contracts, flex spaces, coworking spaces, and remote work. Prior to the crisis, flexible space solutions accounted for approximately 3 percent of the US office market. Flexibility was already working, as their share had risen 25% each year over the last five years. According to a McKinsey study, office decision-makers expect the percentage of working hours in the main and field offices to decrease by 12% and 20%, respectively.

4. Sustainable Workplaces

The pandemic has uncovered an unprecedented vulnerable relationship to global ecosystems. Future executives will be more responsible for achieving CO2-neutral status. It is partially supported by arriving millennials, sectors of the increasing importance of corporate and social responsibility, and environmental, social, and corporate governance agendas (ESG).

Leading companies will always consider important measures from a sustainability perspective. A by-product of proactively addressing the environment during and after the crisis will strengthen customer-supplier relationships, improve corporate reputation, and improve employee loyalty and productivity. If investment in tech equipment allows, future offices will undoubtedly be smarter. Use low energy technology to provide and control environmental solutions and focus on alternative energy sources. Where investment in high-tech fit-outs allows, offices of the future will undoubtedly be smarter. They will employ low-energy technology to deliver and control environmental solutions, with an increased focus on alternative sources of power.

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Built by Architects for the Architecture, Landscape, Interior, and Urban planning industry, Archslate is proud to create the largest talent marketplace that understands the needs of every firm while removing recruiters, third-party agencies, and percentage cuts. See how Archslate can help your firm by requesting a demo with us.

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