Permanent Changes Are Coming To The Workplace

The evolution of the workplace over the past several months has prompted companies to reconfigure their offices in order to accommodate the changing needs of professionals. For instance, coworking provider WeWork has been adjusting their normal model to create a more secure workplace.

Ronen Journo, senior vice president of enterprise and workplace for WeWork, addressed the changes the company has been making to create a safer place for their members.

“In all of our locations, we’ve de-densified high traffic areas and modified shared spaces. We also built upon our existing cleaning measures to frequently disinfect common areas and lounges and added sanitization stations throughout our locations,” said Journo. “We’re asking that people wear masks in common areas, ensuring that hand sanitizer is available, and where possible, taking people’s temperatures.”

Additionally, Journo believes that these changes will be more than just temporary solutions. In fact, many business leaders will see this as an opportunity to cut costs, while integrating new technology that can better support remote workers.

This will likely lead to more companies adopting flexible work arrangements, including how, when and where they work. Workers will be given more freedom to choose their work schedule, while companies can let go of additional office space that is underutilized.

Doing so will also build a better sense of trust between managers and employees. Prior to the transition to a more remote workforce, many business leaders relied on presenteeism to determine whether workers are being productive. However, research has found that this micromanaging tactic can hinder how efficient workers are.