The "new normal"?

Thoughts about the future of the office

The lockdown has had two effects - it has acted as a magnifying glass onto inequalities of health, housing provision, access to open spaces and the like, as well as an accelerator for trends by 5-10 years such as changes to the traditional high street, working from home, online collaboration, uptake of IT in general. Buildings, design and behaviours have evolved in response to desasters in the past, for example 20th century minimal modernism developed not least to address cholera outbreaks. This means that a lot of people are now asking what it means for them and their workplace.

Why go to the office?

Amidst the need to be seen to do something – more signage, taping off seats, one-way-systems, separate meals, screens etc - the damage to team spirit, spontaneity and mental wellbeing from missing out on social interaction and normal human contact – the “office environment” - is a real threat for individuals as much as organisations.

As designers, we need to distinguish between sustainable changes that are desirable improvements to workplaces which will “stick” long-term as opposed to short-term emergency measures, that may jar with our natural instincts and may even be damaging to our wellbeing. We can see 3 levels of design responses to the government’s 5 levels of alert:

a)     Do nothing (Level 1 – virus not known) – This is not an option; we cannot go back to the “Old Normal”, given new work patterns and continued existence of this or another virus.

b)    Sustainable long-term improvements (Level 2 & 3 – virus present / in general circulation): This might be the so-called "New Normal" - better hygiene, more flexibility, less commuting, better well-being provision, more choice, more agency, more space…

c)     Short-term emergency measures (Level 4 & 5 – infections rising exponentially):The “Emergency Status” means masks, screens, tapes, distancing, queues, additional signage, enforced working from home for all, severe travel restrictions...

I believe we will continue to need offices and other types of buildings as places to come together and as the physical embodiment of organisational culture. But perhaps workplaces will have to morph, become be more nuanced and intentional, replacing the habitual presenteeism and rows of desks. Pre-Covid trends were already pointing in that direction. Reasons for going to the office will subtly change. The workplace itself will have to be attractive and intuitive to remain relevant.

Understanding Risk

As humans we are intuitively very bad at estimating risk. From our current understanding, the difference of risk for young children and old people varies by a factor 10,000, according to Sir David Spiegelhalter, Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk in the Statistical Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. The full interview can be found in BBC's More or Less podcast. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p087x9sf

One defining feature of the virus is that it is distributed very unequally. The chance of coming into close contact with an infected individual is considered to be pretty slim in most settings. Although clearly some people, depending on their jobs and activities, are at much higher risk than others. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52758024

The Visual Capitalist scored 966 occupations on a scale from 0 to 100 (most risk) to illustrate the great disparity. Infection risk (and risk of passing it on unwittingly) increases with the number of interactions (how many people?), proximity (how close?) and exposure to disease (how much viral load?). Whilst this is not an exact science, it can provide us with a useful starting point for workplace assessments. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-front-line-visualizing-the-occupations-with-the-highest-covid-19-risk/

The spread of risk means there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution and it is unlikely you will find all the answers in central government or HSE guidance. Both recommend undertaking both workplace risk assessments and consulting with the workforce.

Unpopular emergency measures might not “stick” or be relevant as the risk decreases. We at Consarc, as architects and workplace consultants, are used to undertaking client-specific workplace assessments under our CDM design obligations to eliminate, reduce and communicate health and safety risks in practice.

Worktype Evaluation

Measures that are sensible in a hospital or for crowded places might feel too restrictive for typical modern office operations. Each activity that an organisation undertakes will have to be assessed spatially. For example, where visitors were allowed deep within the floorplan in the past, now this might need to be reorganised.

Meetings that require reading someone’s body language or being close enough to offer emotional support will continue to be delivered in person, such as counselling sessions, first introductions to a client or professional team or at the crunch point in difficult negotiations (“seeing the white of the eyes”). We will be looking to moving these meetings into bigger meeting rooms with optimum ventilation - ideally openable windows. Decompressing and “chewing the fat” after more tricky meetings will require some colleagues being around in the open plan.

Other type of work and meetings can happily occur remotely, either because it’s focussed work or routine collaboration, that doesn’t rely too much on emotions and physical presence. Re-purposing small 2-person-rooms as video-conferencing booths or for concentrated single person occupancy combined with more working from home will free up space elsewhere to enable the use of the larger rooms for face-to-face sessions in a less dense setting.

Some meetings might work better as “hybrids”, with fewer key persons meeting in person, and others joining remotely. How much more efficient could meetings be organised, now that we are a nation proficient in the use of Teams and Zoom?

Workforce Assessment

We now know that age, gender, ethnicity, underlying health conditions have disproportionate effects. Unsurprisingly, the risk of dying increases with age, rising sharply from age 60 onwards. Men are twice as likely to die with coronavirus. 90% had underlying illnesses. 25% of hospital deaths alone were people with diabetes.

Young people, much less at risk clinically, will continue to benefit disproportionately more from being in the office, to learn from others and to “get” the work culture. They are also more likely to live in cramped homes and finding avoiding the risk of public transport easier by cycling, running or walking.

Older, more vulnerable workers, who already know the ropes, may be better off reducing their commuting, probably having a nicer WFH set-up at home. They might choose to check into the office only for purposeful quality time, avoiding peak commuting times.

Others may have personal reasons to work from home or the office. Once the kids are back to school, WFH might be great to manage the school run. The added risks of being male or having diabetes could make the difference. Or do they live too far to walk or cycle and reducing the time commuting might be a clinching factor?

Some managers or workers might find it harder to adjust to changes than others, but then we have just come through a huge learning curve collectively and are now in a new position: a quantum shift may already have occurred in those typically resistant to change.

Working from home

The global experiment of enforced working from home has shown that it can work and that there is a huge pool of people who are now set up and ready to go. Workplace trends were expecting this level of uptake in the next 5 to 10 years anyway. Anecdotal evidence (https://lnkd.in/dz85szQ) shared by the the Hakett Institute on productivity seems to correlate with workplace science research:

Before the lockdown, research led by Nick Bloom of Stanford suggested that the greatest productivity benefit from flexible working comes when staff are given a choice of where to locate. A ?rst randomized experiment on working from home, was run in a 16,000-employee, NASDAQ-listed Chinese ?rm, Ctrip. Employees who volunteered to work from home were randomized by even/odd birthdate into a treatment group who worked from home four days a week for nine months and a control group who were in the of?ce all ?ve days of the work week.

They found a highly signi?cant 13% increase in employee performance from #WFH, of which about 9% was from employees working more minutes of their shift period (fewer breaks and sick days) and about 4% from higher performance per minute. The study found no negative spillovers onto workers who stayed in the of?ce. Home workers also reported substantially higher work satisfaction and psychological attitude scores, and their job attrition rates fell by over 50%, which is remarkable. Furthermore, when the experiment ended and workers were allowed to choose whether to work at home or in the of?ce, selection effects almost doubled the gains in performance. https://nbloom.people.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj4746/f/wfh.pdf

So, this shows that offering choice of homeworking will benefit both employer and worker, as well as take pressure off public transport and reduce virus transmission.

Workplace Occupancy

Homeworking is now here to stay. We can expect lower density of the office environment altogether in future, irrespective of the risk level. We know that occupancy range can be ramped up or down according to the government’s alertness level specific to each company. As workplace consultants, Consarc have been using workplace analysis tools in the past to develop flexible scenarios. Now those need augmenting that with the insights on individual risk profiles and personal circumstances.

How to manage the impact on the workplace will be very different for a small 15-person office compared to – for example – 9,000 employees at Jaguar-Landrover.

To avoid awkward office ballets around who goes first, we will have to eliminate pinchpoints and unintuitive circulation flows around the office. One-way systems might be useful for a factory setting, a multi-storey office or a primary school, but probably not for small offices. In large buildings, lifts might be treated like public transport with mandatory use of masks between the “home bubble” and the “office bubble”. But for single narrow stairs, will we let those at the top come down first, as we do when people exit through doors before we enter – as a rule, not just common courtesy?

For the actual office space, think reversing collaboration and focus spaces. Very small rooms that might have been “meeting rooms” with bad ventilation will have to be turned into “zoom booths” for virtual meetings or for single occupancy of higher-risk individuals.

Intermediate sized meeting rooms with more air space can be used for 1:1 confidential meetings, or 3 person brainstorms with fewer chairs. The associated Approved Code of Practice and Guidance of the Workplace, (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires 11 cubic metres per person. For a 2.4 m high meeting room, occupied by 2 people, this is 9 sqm. I.e. anything smaller than 9 sqm should not be used for 2 people.

Big meetings / group work / seminars / classes / training can move into new open plan collaborations zones, where airflow can be guaranteed. We got rid of desking in our office, to create an improved circulation and communal area, and the team dynamic improved drastically.

We replaced our messy, cluttered, dead-end workstations and the print hub facing and blocking the kitchenette. After the redesign: Easy access to the kitchenette, less congested, improved circulation, no clutter, lots of greenery, space for quick stand-up meetings.

For the remaining desk space, create quiet zones if you can, like the “quiet coach” on a train, with a better acoustic separation from the collaboration zone(s). For desking think quality over quantity.

Some companies are banning opposing workstations. But when sitting at opposite at desks (typically 1.6m apart), the computer screens might act as a shield, whilst sitting diagonally or side-by-side there is a clear sightline. There just is not enough current research into such detail to confidently advise on sitting positions with such absolute certainty as is being proposed by some. Recommendations for distancing vary from the WHO’s 1m or 1.5 in Germany to 2m in the UK – but shouldn’t distancing also flex with the risk as discussed earlier? (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52522460)

Other Office Improvements

I really like the idea that the office is like a safe place – the “bubble” – with mandatory cleaning at the entrance – managing risk together within our trusted circle of colleagues. I don’t think it is realistic to be on high altert continuously. We will have to improve hygiene substantially to a level we would want at home.

Where work means mixing with the public, the workplace can be organised into “staff-bubbles” (see landside / airside concepts). Creating an “office bubble” might involve leaving coats (and shoes?) right at the entrance, no outdoor clothes inside the office proper, cloakroom near toilets / hand washing as the first port of call. Washing hands with every use of the kitchenette. Strictly no blowing of noses near food and drink areas. Fixed / reception desks for a limited number of users. Each user will need to clean their space before and after use. Additionally, office cleaners may become more integrated into the office team.

Research into the spread of airborne disease in offices has shown that there are germ hotspots, especially around shared equipment and eating at desks. Fridge door, coffee machine, copier and telephones need considering. But did you know there is no evidence that Covid-19 can spread through food?

A personal box, allocated keyboards and computer mice for staff is also an overdue improvement. We already have implemented wireless keyboards and lockers with personal boxes in our shared Consarc and Cartwright Pickard office. These are put away, as part of our clean desk policy, reducing clutter and making cleaning easier. Getting rid of surplus stuff will help with cleanliness as well promote the paperless office.

Generally, every office will benefit from de-cluttering – think serene Japanese or Scandi environments; think "wellbeing", not "clinical" when it comes to making changes. Virus survival is lower for copper, wood and paper compared to glass, plastic and metal! Bringing more natural materials and planting into the workplace has been popular with staff in our office.

Fresh air is conducive for good health and concentration. Removing barriers using hold-open and hands-free devices was always desirable for better accessibility (wheelchairs?). Security and drafts need considering; keeping windows open continuously is not really an option in winter, but generally opening up internal spaces is desirable. Fans are a conundrum because they distribute germs everywhere, but also improve airflow. These are very site-specific considerations.

Seize the day!

These extraordinary times of uncertainty and accelerated change have created the perfect opportunity to evaluate the workplace. We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experiment, to consult with staff, to test and prototype new solutions whilst many working from home are open to ideas.

Improve office layout and circulation flows by moving some furniture? Replace some of the desks with stand-up meeting tables (short meetings = low infection risk)? Create a pocket park for outdoor meetings, add cycle parking? Buy a group cycle insurance to cover all employees? Get catering for healthy meals? New digital collaborative solutions?

It is time for innovation, imagination and good design decisions for our offices!

PS:

The Government levels of alert are:

Level 1 COVID-19 is not known to be present in the UK

Level 2 COVID-19 is present in the UK, but the number of cases and transmission is low

Level 3 A COVID-19 epidemic is in general circulation

Level 4 A COVID-19 epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially

Level 5 As level 4 and there is a material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed.

The Government’s 5 easy steps to working safely are:

1. Carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment

2. Develop cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures

3. Help people to work from home

4. Maintain 2m social distancing, where possible

5. Where people cannot be 2m apart, manage transmission risk