Wednesday, April 21, 2021
No Result
View All Result
CRETech IoT NYC
Advertisement
  • Home
  • IoT
    • Sensors and Devices
    • Security
    • Building Automation
      • Predictive Maintenance
    • Wireless IoT
  • CRETech NYC
    • News and Events
  • Architectural Design
    • Building Design
      • Access Control & Surveillance
      • Audio Visual
      • Cabling Infrastructure
      • Command Centers
      • In Building Cellular
      • Power Over Ethernet POE
        • POE Lighting
        • POE Security
      • Unified Communication
      • Wireless Networks
  • Green Buildings
    • Sustainable Architecture
    • Green Certifications
    • Energy Optimization
    • Wellness
  • Connectivity
    • 5G
    • Fiber Connectivity
    • Outside Plant OSP
  • Blockchain IoT
    • Commercial Real Estate Blockchain
  • Relocation & Leases
    • Technology Relocation
  • White Papers
    • Smart Buildings
    • Smart Cities
  • Home
  • IoT
    • Sensors and Devices
    • Security
    • Building Automation
      • Predictive Maintenance
    • Wireless IoT
  • CRETech NYC
    • News and Events
  • Architectural Design
    • Building Design
      • Access Control & Surveillance
      • Audio Visual
      • Cabling Infrastructure
      • Command Centers
      • In Building Cellular
      • Power Over Ethernet POE
        • POE Lighting
        • POE Security
      • Unified Communication
      • Wireless Networks
  • Green Buildings
    • Sustainable Architecture
    • Green Certifications
    • Energy Optimization
    • Wellness
  • Connectivity
    • 5G
    • Fiber Connectivity
    • Outside Plant OSP
  • Blockchain IoT
    • Commercial Real Estate Blockchain
  • Relocation & Leases
    • Technology Relocation
  • White Papers
    • Smart Buildings
    • Smart Cities
No Result
View All Result
CRETech IoT NYC
No Result
View All Result
Home Green Buildings

Top 6 Long-Term Trends Emerging From the Pandemic and What They Mean for Office Design

October 29, 2020
in Green Buildings
0
Top 6 Long-Term Trends Emerging From the Pandemic and What They Mean for Office Design

Face it. You thought this could be a nice change of pace—maybe work leisurely at your sunny kitchen table for a week—two weeks tops—while enjoying a cup of your favorite weekend coffee every morning! You could be more hands-on with the kids and their schoolwork and maybe enjoy a nice after-dinner walk now that you have all that time saved from your commute.

How did that work out? The answer is that it has worked pretty well, all things considered.

Related articles

Page not found – Environment + Energy Leader

Page not found – Environment + Energy Leader

March 9, 2021
Schneider Electric’s Suite of Energy Efficient Applications for the Water Industry

Schneider Electric’s Suite of Energy Efficient Applications for the Water Industry

March 9, 2021

Third-party surveys from Leesman and others have shown widespread satisfaction with the new work-from-home paradigm, and almost all forecasts for the future see at least a hybrid model of work split between offices, neighborhood hubs, third places and home.

 
Six broad themes characterize the pandemic’s long-term effects on the workplace, measuring sticks of sorts to evaluate all the micro and macro moves that will enable and entice employees to return safely—and enthusiastically—to the office. Credit: Photography by Joe Aker

This is the first long-term implication of the pandemic, and it is worth noting that the COVID-19 outbreak, rather than being a cause of this change, is really an accelerator. The idea of employee choice in when and where work happens, the accommodation of activity-based work settings and the advent of workplaces that integrate employee experience with organizational productivity are standing ideas of workplace design in recent years; now they take center stage.

Overlaid with an obvious uncertainty about returning to the office and a shifting menu of likely physical changes—even a fundamental questioning of the very need for office space—how do you measure the changing landscape of the workplace?  What’s opinion, and what’s simply anecdotal?  What’s going to stick, and what’s just a temporary fix?

6 Ways to Entice Employees to Return to the Office

Six broad themes characterize the pandemic’s long-term effects on the workplace. Think of these as measuring sticks of sorts to evaluate all the micro and macro moves that will enable and entice employees to return safely—and enthusiastically—to the office.

1. Use disruption as your ally.

The good news is that there is great opportunity in all the noise. Disruption creates a chance to recalibrate the what and the why of any workplace and identifies the elements that will be important going forward. Importantly, the good ideas you had in February are still good ideas—some of them more important than ever.

Think of the pandemic as an accelerant of good ideas, not the cause of (unwelcome) change.

HP Inc
Easily reconfigurable walls and furniture, the ability to quickly support and shift between both “We work” and “Me work” settings, and truly modular planning and building systems will support a resilient space where physical changes are simple, easy and low cost. Credit: Scott McDonald at Gray City Studios

2. Solve for the whole person.

The best workplace will balance both employees’ emotional needs—connecting with others, health and wellbeing, a sense of community—with their intellectual needs—time and space to focus, opportunity to learn and creative freedom.

[Read also: 3 Tips for Better Facility Hygiene]

Understanding what motivates an organization’s workers and translating that into the physical workplace has always been indicative of the most effective offices. A workplace that can explicitly exhibit that sense that something important happens here and that employees are valued, is a workplace that will drive value and amplify the impact of the people who work there.

Further, the workplace should have a purpose and drive a sense of belonging. A successful workplace has an urban vibe—something special is going on here.  There is action and energy. The most effective workplaces amplify a feeling of collegiality; you feel like you are part of something special, and you are working to a greater good.

And finally, the best workplace connects people back to nature: A view, access to daylight, a connection to outdoor space or integration of biophilic elements can all add to the sense of time and space to focus or clear the mind or let creativity flow—to take a walk in the park.

Booth3. Practice resilience.

Who really believes this is the last time we will experience a pandemic? Or even as we work out of this one, once returned to the office, you must return working from home when there is an outbreak in your workplace, or your elevator bank, or your building. The workplace will become more resilient and exhibit flexibility to better accommodate disruptions to the work world.

Easily reconfigurable walls and furniture, the ability to quickly support and shift between both “We work” and “Me work” settings, and truly modular planning and building systems will support a resilient space where physical changes are simple, easy and low cost.

(Pictured: The best workplaces connect people back to nature: A view, access to daylight, a connection to outdoor space or integration of biophilic elements can all add to the sense of time and space to focus or clear the mind or let creativity flow—to take a walk in the park. Credit: Scott McDonald at Gray City Studio)

4. Embrace technology.

Every meeting will accommodate both virtual and in-person participants, ubiquitous connectivity will allow data and networks to be accessed from anywhere and hardware solutions will support productive work wherever an employee may be. Tools and technology that are not available at home will be the hallmark of the new office, and they will help serve as that compelling glue to entice workers to return to the workplace and practice real and effective collaboration.

5. Amplify collaboration.

The workplace is foundationally a place that brings people together to do their best work. Surveys and anecdotes all show that the home office is generally great for heads-down focus work, for quiet thinking time, privacy, and one-on-one meetings—albeit via Zoom calls!

[Listen now: Inside WELL’s New Health-Safety Rating]

But impromptu interaction, running into people at the coffee bar, brainstorming and group creativity is still best supported in the collaborative part of the workplace spectrum. This duality of Me work and We work give credence to the future being about a combination of workplaces with workers increasingly empowered to choose when and where to get work done.

6. Shepherd every dollar.

Organizations are asking whether it is better to make the office compelling enough to entice people back or whether budgets are better leveraged to help people be as productive as they can be at home.

The likely answer to this quandary will be some combination of both with a natural tension between these opposing camps that will require every budget, every project and every expenditure to be carefully scrutinized. The biggest bang for the buck won’t just be a shop-worn phrase, but a real measurable metric, and the emphasis will focus on business performance.

Energy Firm
Tools and technology that are not available at home will be the hallmark of the new office, and they will help serve as that compelling glue to entice workers to return to the workplace and practice real and effective collaboration. Credit: Peter Molick

Investing in this new redefined workplace will be a competitive advantage to attract and retain the best and brightest. Once the economy comes back, talent will hold the upper hand, and employees will pick and choose organizations that invested in people through compelling work settings and flexible work models.

The commonality here is that the successful workplace is, first and foremost, human-centric.

This was true in February, but it is more important than ever. Since employees have now been entrusted with choosing when and where to work, they will have to be enticed back with a compelling workplace that puts an organization’s most valuable resource—its people—first and foremost and clearly supports both the emotional and the intellectual needs of the people who work there.

Clean, safe, sanitized workspaces are simply table stakes; the organization that truly puts its people first will the organization that thrives and accelerates out of the chaos.

Author: Jackie Wheat, principal, managing director of Design + Brand Services, PDR

Jackie Wheat, principal, managing director of Design + Brand Services of PDR, is an innovator who shapes the world by unleashing the hidden potential in people. Design is her driver. Workplace is her medium.

Read next: A 3-Step Approach to Creating Meaningful Workplace Experiences

Credit: https://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/22316/title/trends-pandemic-office-design

Share76Tweet47Share13SendShare19Send

Related Posts

Page not found – Environment + Energy Leader

Page not found – Environment + Energy Leader

March 9, 2021
0

Page not found - Environment +...

Schneider Electric’s Suite of Energy Efficient Applications for the Water Industry

Schneider Electric’s Suite of Energy Efficient Applications for the Water Industry

March 9, 2021
0

Product Announcement: Schneider Electric’s Suite of...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
The 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the World

The 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the World

October 15, 2020
eufyCam 2C vs Blink XT2 Compared – Which is the best budget wire-free security camera?

eufyCam 2C vs Blink XT2 Compared – Which is the best budget wire-free security camera?

March 17, 2020
Let Light in: 17 Projects Using Polycarbonate

Let Light in: 17 Projects Using Polycarbonate

October 18, 2019
The Leading Industry 4.0 Companies 2019

The Leading Industry 4.0 Companies 2019

January 23, 2019
Why Smart Buildings of the Future Need Autonomous Cleaning

Why Smart Buildings of the Future Need Autonomous Cleaning

0
PG&E Faces Serious Financial Risk From Devastating California Wildfires

PG&E Faces Serious Financial Risk From Devastating California Wildfires

0
UC Santa Cruz Signs 2-MW Solar Parking Canopy Deal with ForeFront Power

UC Santa Cruz Signs 2-MW Solar Parking Canopy Deal with ForeFront Power

0
Shell Energy Inside Smart Buildings Solution

Shell Energy Inside Smart Buildings Solution

0
Zenstay Boutique Hotel / Zen-In Architects

Zenstay Boutique Hotel / Zen-In Architects

April 21, 2021
Sacramento’s sustainable mobility hub gets the green light

Sacramento’s sustainable mobility hub gets the green light

April 21, 2021
Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. stock outperforms market on strong trading day

Home Depot Inc. stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitors

April 21, 2021
Is Boston Dynamics becoming a boring robotics company?

Is Boston Dynamics becoming a boring robotics company?

April 21, 2021
CRETech IoT NYC

CRETechIoTNYC.com is a Breaking News Portal Addressing Technology Innovation within the NYC Commercial Real Estate Market.

Topics

  • CRETech NYC
  • Architectural Design
  • Connectivity
  • Relocation and Leases
  • White Papers

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2018 cretechiotnyc by Designing Smarter Buildings Since 1979.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • IoT
    • Sensors and Devices
    • Security
    • Building Automation
      • Predictive Maintenance
    • Wireless IoT
  • CRETech NYC
    • News and Events
  • Architectural Design
    • Building Design
      • Access Control & Surveillance
      • Audio Visual
      • Cabling Infrastructure
      • Command Centers
      • In Building Cellular
      • Power Over Ethernet POE
      • Unified Communication
      • Wireless Networks
  • Green Buildings
    • Sustainable Architecture
    • Green Certifications
    • Energy Optimization
    • Wellness
  • Connectivity
    • 5G
    • Fiber Connectivity
    • Outside Plant OSP
  • Blockchain IoT
    • Commercial Real Estate Blockchain
  • Relocation & Leases
    • Technology Relocation
  • White Papers
    • Smart Buildings
    • Smart Cities

© 2018 cretechiotnyc by Designing Smarter Buildings Since 1979.