Guest Blog! How your office will look post Covid-19

Matt and FKM were used to kitting out new office spaces with huddle rooms, private break off areas, shared canteen facilities and games rooms. Now they must re-imagine these office spaces for people to be able to interact safely when they return to normality, or the new normal anyhow.

With remote working, less people will need to be office bound. However, the office still has a big part to play in everyday working life. Here is the quick FKM guide to the Office Space 2020 –

Space re-imagined:

• Safe working spaces is now the only game in town.
• Re-configuration of the office spaces to meet new guidelines is key. FKM are developing new zonal areas for employees to work safely in.
• Seating to be spread out more.
• Routing in the office spaces, imagine the IKEA one-way system… so the flow of movement is managed better.
• Reception areas to be re-imagined around dispersed seating, screened desks, hand sanitizer stations etc.
• “Hands free” doors. More automatic doors.
• Increase in video-conferencing facilities, likely to be booth size for individual use mainly.
• A 20 second automatic hand wash in the toilets.
• Fob access for lockers.
• Some surfaces to be upgraded to microbial surfacing.
• Sanitisation tables.

Cleaning protocols:

Matt sees the following protocols being part of daily office life.

• Clean desk policies developed and rigidly adhered to.
• Greater increase in “hot desking” so as desks are shared, proper protocols put in place.
• Cleaning of all surfaces and identification of “high touch surfaces” such as in canteens, at the printer, door handles etc.
• The decontamination of your office air conditioning.

Each employee will have:

• Their own sanitisation kits.
• Keyless entry, wireless mouse/keyboard, own laptops etc.
• Personal cups/flasks/bottles.
• Masks, gloves, zip lock bags.
• Screened desks.

We will return to a new way of doing things. To help you plan for the new world.