Office Design Changing in Response to Pandemic
Date Posted: June 18, 2020
Posted In: COVID-19 Updates,
by Trevor Hoiland, Design Manager, Burns & McDonnell
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has flipped trends in office space and design. While technology advancements have led to more collaborative and mobile work environments, with open floor plans and benches for groups to gather, the health crisis has raised concerns about close contact with others. Many employees have been working from home, skyrocketing the need for home office furniture and leaving many cubicles empty for months.
While no official guidelines have been established, many offices are looking for ways to implement social distancing measures in the workplace. The need for collaboration is still crucial for many businesses, so rethinking office design is a first step to providing employees a space to meet in person in the COVID-19 era.
Rethinking Workplace Design
While a pandemic shutting down businesses and preventing in-person meetings may not have been a significant concern for many a year ago, the COVID-19 crisis has revealed the potential for future disease outbreaks. Digital collaboration tools provide co-workers, consultants and clients with a way to discuss matters via no-contact virtual communication. Videoconferencing has become dominant. Companies in all sectors will likely see an increase in phone or video meetings even after the current pandemic subsides.
Additionally, large gatherings in meeting rooms with close seating are likely a habit of the past. Collaboration in conference rooms may trend toward smaller groups and spaced seating, with some joining by video. Disease exposures will be reduced by cleaning of rooms before and after meetings. Other aspects of the office buildings will also be rethought: how many passengers in an elevator, self-cleaning buttons and doorknobs, and the airflow through all spaces.