The New Working Normal

Understandably people may be nervous about the safety of this, and a couple of months of cabin fever would leave anyone concerned about the outside world!

Now the biggest challenge of a clean office is not the tea stains on the kitchen worktop and the suspicious tupperware that has been lingering in the fridge for months; it is absolutely necessary for the continued health of staff that germs are kept to a minimum, and this is where technology (and design!) come in.

Through the crisis, some of the top technology minds around the world have been using lockdown to create solutions to the new wave of problems that are essential to solve before the safe return to the office.

At POS, our team have put this time in lockdown to good use by adapting workplace design to incorporate social distancing advice.

A lot depends on companies’ individual return strategies; this could be that 50% of staff come into the office one week, the remaining half the next; the continuation of home working; or even a complete return to the office but with social distancing measures.

There’s a real mix and no ‘one size fits all’ approach, that’s why we have put our lockdown time into coming up with a mix of ideas on how we can help local businesses in the best possible way.

Firstly, we’re sure that you’ve seen the stickers on the floor of your local shop to remind you of social distancing measures, but we’ve designed our own that can be used in offices for a subtle prompt of safe distances to keep within the workplace.

While the dining room table has ‘made-do’ for now, in the long term the lack of ergonomic comfort could be a problem not just for your back, but for productivity. The desire to work from home is clearly already there (89% of people we surveyed want to continue WFH to some degree), the equipment and intelligent design to maximise space is not.

A home office is ideal for tasks that require deep concentration, in a space free from distraction. Instead of adjusting office spaces to fulfil this, an investment into employees’ home offices could not only be cheaper but more effective.

Another initiative we have created is a home office package in our bronze, silver, gold format to give some options to individuals and companies looking to make their home workstation more productive and ergonomic. 

The increase of demand for home workstations will undoubtedly change the function of the office as we know it.

The freedom for staff to choose how and where staff work best is a real game changer in terms of well-being and productivity. Also, historic thoughts of the office as “boring” could soon become outdated as businesses work towards making sure they are a fun place to be.

Like what you hear? We specialise in workplace design and have a range of home workstation options that can fulfil all kinds of working. Get in contact with [email protected].