A brave new hybrid world: The post-pandemic version

The historical evolution of office design has been greatly influenced by precipitating factors in the contemporary environment. While?the 1980’s emphasis on freedom of movement and privacy resulted in “cubicle farms”, the dawn of industrialisation created the modern day office space as we know it. The advent of wireless and network technology in the 1990s transformed the workplace - the mobility that it afforded soon evolved into open plan, hot desking,?and co-working office design concepts in the 2000s. While industrialisation, worker privacy, and technology were the driving forces for office design in the past, the COVID -?19 pandemic?has proven to be a compelling contemporary force propelling a fundamental relook at the office typography. The pandemic has upended our definitions of workplaces, called into question the very purpose of large, centralized office spaces and left companies grappling with vexing questions - How do you create a?safe office environment when it is physically unsafe to be around each other? How do you encourage employees to overcome hesitancy and come in to work when the pandemic has convinced us that most tasks can be accomplished without being physically present??

Social psychologists and economists argue that there still remains some intrinsic value in a physical office. Offices foster informal interaction, help express our professional identities, contribute to a culture of learning and collaboration. How do you make employees want to come to work, rather than them feeling forced to do so?

?Hybrid office spaces may be the answer to working in the “new normal”. These spaces create a balance between in-office and remote work schedules, transforming the physical space into flexible, shared cultural spaces to enable learning and?facilitate collaboration, while providing greater employee autonomy, privacy, and flexibility. Workspaces with socially distanced desks that also seamlessly accommodate communication with virtual employees, are typical features of such a model. Redesigning conference rooms to install eye level cameras and large wall screens to facilitate remote participants, is another fine example. Social experiments have shown that even?peripheral awareness of one another can help make those working remotely?feel closer to people on site and vice versa. Flipping the workspace layout is also important. While employees earlier favored open office plans, now, large collaborative spaces work best for socially distanced, safe socializing. While individual pods or private work areas may work best for the few in-office days a week to be devoted to productivity, modular, movable furniture, height adjustable seating and desks, and mobile storage units?help further?flexibility. Hybrid models may also leverage technology to assist in desk planning, meeting room scheduling, generating workplace layouts, and seating charts, to help maximize safety in office spaces. In addition, mixing business spaces with amenities such as gyms, event areas, restaurants, and other recreational spaces?may serve to further employee willingness to return.?

?Hybrid models may, however, have certain pitfalls. Work from home experiences have been unique for every individual. While many crave the energy of an office, others are finding the return to near normalcy challenging. Coordinating schedules of on-site and at-home employees?can be a potential area of conflict, so can establishing relationships with colleagues. Some employees continuing to work from the office while others not,?can create perceived groups that may leave some employees out. Negating these issues will require managers to take active steps towards rapport building, consistent check-ins, and conceptualizing engaging activities?to maintain team morale. Creating?a strong hybrid company culture amidst different schedules and multiple modes of functioning can pose a challenge.

The pandemic has fundamentally altered the way we work.?To complete the transition to a hybrid workplace, remodeling our?existing spaces to meet the needs of a flexible workforce is the need of the hour. Common break areas, quiet focus areas?, customized meeting rooms for activity-based work?, enhanced technological functionality — this is the future of the post pandemic office space.