Once people return back to their normal work lives, the office environment they are used to will look much different.
For instance, doors and elevators will use touchless technology to operate, less chairs will be in common areas and more partitions will be implemented.
Changes that are not as obvious will be the inclusion of antimicrobial fabrics, UV germicidal lights and routine sanitization of commonly touched areas. Along with this, open office plans may become less and less common.
“There’ll be a lot of thoughts about employee density,” said Anthony Malkin, CEO of Empire State Realty Trust. “The WeWorks of the world, Convene, Industrious, they get called out for their coworking, but there are a tremendous number of tenants who have deployed benching when you have 2, 3 feet between people.”
Before the pandemic, the open office plan faced criticisms due to its noisy nature hindering productivity and cramped workspaces.
Now, coworking operators are facing major challenges as clients flock to work from home. This has led many major coworking firms to stop paying rent and renegotiate leases.
In an effort to adjust to the new world of social distancing, Cushman & Wakefield are testing out their Six-Feet Office concept that features marked floors to keep people apart, disposable desk pads and more.
