The office is gonna look different when we get back

Yes, I think we will continue to work in shared office spaces, whenever this Covid crisis is over. I stand firm and believe that the best ideas and productivity emerge when colleagues work face to face. 

But, workplaces are going to look and feel a bit different. For starters, I think the traditional office will be a bit emptier for many companies; More people are going to ask to work from home more regularly, and HR policies will likely flex to accommodate that. 

For those who choose to work on-site, in-person, or don’t have a choice, the actual workplace may be made up of different materials and hardware. Even before Covid-19 hit, LinkedIn was installing and testing materials and systems to slow the spread of germs. Now, we’ll be ramping up those efforts. But fear not, just because we’re going to focus more on keeping spaces even cleaner, we won’t let our offices look like hospitals. 

Here are a few things we were testing before we started working from home – and you may well see in a workplace near you soon… 

Self-Cleaning Surfaces 

We installed Nanoseptic self-cleaning adhesive surfaces on some high traffic touch points, including push bars and door handles at our Silicon Valley experimentation lab. 

These surfaces work continuously to oxidize all organic contaminants, reducing the spread of germs and cross-contamination risks. 

UV Phone Sanitizing Stations  

We also put a Cleanslate UV Phone Sanitizing Station at the experimentation lab. You put your phone in the cleaning station without having to touch the machine. 

No touch Doors 

You might start seeing more motion-activated door opening systems. But there are even simpler solutions. We already installed many StepNpull foot-operated door openers on the entrances to restrooms across our Silicon Valley campus. 

Copper! 

New research from the National Institutes of Health found that Copper (and its alloys Brass and Bronze) can destroy half of the Coronavirus on its surface in 46 minutes and completely in 4 hours. This Stanford Univ. PhD in materials science and CEO of Tandem PV decided to have some fun with copper tape. 

Copper Photo and Creative Credit to Colin Bailie

Then there are the many things we won’t see – things that I’ll have to save for another post (stay tuned). For instance, fresh air helps to reduce the spread of airborne germs. As such the industry will likely change HVAC protocols for recirculating air systems to bring in more outside air (although this is in direct opposition to many sustainability goals) and UV lighting will likely become a far more standard solution for sterilizing air within existing systems.  

We are not going to let this virus divide and separate our workforce. We value people being together more than ever, and we’ll do whatever we can to make our buildings a place where everyone can feel safe and included. 

What materials or systems are you looking at?  

What do we need to know? 

Thanks Francesca Segrè for editorial support.