_Returning to the office part one: Accelerated practical changes and what you can expect

If it had been announced at the beginning of the year that the future of office working could involve strict one-way systems around buildings, face coverings, strict desk allocation protocol and body temperature scanning – you’d be forgiven for thinking it sounded like a far-fetched plot from a slightly dystopian movie.

Fast forward to the halfway point of 2020, and the world is looking like a different place. Positive and encouraging signs are emerging every day, with lockdown rules relaxing globally, shops reopening, and some places of work starting to follow suit. Of course, this is all in line with strict measures designed to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus and prevent another wave.

Physically, office space is looking very different. From greater spacing between desks and didactic sign-posting, the office is not the same place we left three months ago. Yet some of the main changes we could see are not, in fact, brand-new ideas, but rather changes that were already underway and for which Covid-19 has acted as an accelerator. This raises the question of which of these new workplace regulations will eventually disappear like a bad dream, and which will become part of the evolution of office space.

With extensive experience advising a diverse range of different businesses on real estate solutions, our LTR team considers what you might expect from a practical and physical perspective when you return to the office, and which changes could be around for the long term.

Reducing occupancy: Introducing shift patterns and rotas

Reduced occupancy will play a big part in the reopening of offices. Lee Elliott, Global Head of Occupier Research explains: “The necessary requirement to respect social distancing measures – and a 2m distance between individuals – is forcing the reconfiguration of office layouts with a 50-60 per cent reduction in office capacity in most cases.” For many businesses, finding office space that increases the amount of space per person is likely not to be a financially viable solution at this time, and therefore reducing capacity to such an extent will be implemented by shift working and rotas.

Exactly how shifts and rotas are implemented will depend on the individual business structure, with some companies perhaps opting to group employees into teams who can use the office together, further reducing the amount of contact between different people.

It will also hinge on employees’ own commitment and ability to reach the office on certain days, with rigid pre-planning and organisation in place to ensure that the office is not over-filled and that there are allocated desks for everyone who is coming in that day. While an often-heard narrative says people are looking forward to a change of scenery or working from home is wearing thin, concerns around Covid-19 appear to override a willingness to return to work, with a study from YouGov revealing that only one-in-four people in the UK would be willing to go back to the office full-time in the near future.

Instead, the approach that satisfies both demands is agile working, with a greater focus on balancing time between remote working and days spent in the office. From the same survey, 62% of participants claimed to find increased flexibility beneficial for working focus.

Flexible working is of course not a brand-new change for businesses, but re-occupancy following lockdown will act as a catalyst for accelerating this change. Until now, many businesses have had reservations. According to a Forbes Insights and Scrum Alliance survey, “81% of executives consider agility to be the most important characteristic of a successful organization”, yet data from the ONS reveals that 70% of the UK workforce had no experience at all of working from home until the start of lockdown.

With business leaders now forced to recognise the feasibility of integrating home and office working, flexible working will likely be here to stay.

Going paperless

The initiative to go paperless for many businesses has been around for a while, with pressure from an environmental and streamlined organisational perspective – however, the adjustment to agile working and reduced office contact time will be the accelerant that this change requires to come into effect across the board.

According to the robotic digitalisation company Ripcord, the benefits of going paperless particularly lend themselves to the post Covid-19 work environment:

• Efficiency and availability: For those relying on physical documents kept in filing cabinets, the past few months will have presented extra challenges. Most companies use cloud-based organisational systems nowadays, meaning documents are available to all who need them, anytime and anywhere.

• Security: Paperless working provides more peace of mind when it comes to the security of online digital files versus paper files that are prone to being left on someone’s desk.

• Cost and environmental benefits: Going paperless not only saves money but also takes the strain off your business’s paper and ink resources, which has an environmental benefit.

• Paperless aids social distancing: Such is the nature of Covid-19 that one of the main concerns surrounding how it spreads is through surface contact. Sharing around paper documents or the use of shared printers are possible opportunities for workplace contamination. Going paperless will minimise risk further. It will also aid a clear desk policy, which is vital for safe and successful shift/rota working.

Automated Technology

Ensuring as much of the office is as contact-free as possible will play a pivotal role in ensuring offices are ready for re-occupancy. Much of this will be aided by introducing automated technology in a way previously unseen. Technology could include:

• Automatic doors and lifts throughout.

• Hologram technology buttons to prevent touching, used for lifts and doors where extra security is required.

• Thermal-infrared cameras and thermometers to take employees’ temperatures before entering the building – these are already being trialled at some airports to help monitor potential infections entering the country.

• Toilets – ensuring toilets are as contact-free as possible will be a major boon, including automatic flushes, sensor taps and automatic hand-dryers and doors.

While some of these technologies may be harder and more costly to implement than others, they will help promote changes in behaviour and priorities when it comes to occupiers who are looking to invest in future office space. Lee Elliott explains “Covid-19 will expedite the adoption and use of building technology to measure and monitor the use and effectiveness of office space. This will be beneficial from the perspective of tracking and tracing contact in the office in the event of further outbreaks or future pandemics, but will also measure building utilisation and allow occupiers to assess the ‘return on investment’ in the office.”

Read Part two: Accelerated social and behavioural changes and what you can expect, here.

The London Tenant Representation team offer a refreshingly different approach by exclusively advising office occupiers across the London market, delivering optimal real estate solutions via carefully formulated property strategies and robust, impartial negotiation.

For more information, contact our London Tenant Representation team today.