Talk of demise of offices is greatly exaggerated, but how firms will use work spaces is set to change in post-coronavirus world
- Internal survey of clients by Space Matrix shows companies still looking for face-to-face interaction and collaboration
- In new normal, companies will prioritise social distancing to ensure safety and health of employees: Cushman
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing companies to re-evaluate safety in the workplace, as a new normal emerges with the end of lockdowns and work-from-home arrangements.
Property managers, architects and designers have all proposed various initiatives to help companies safely re-enter their offices following weeks and months of lockdowns.
“A lot of companies are looking at re-entering the workplace, [and] now they’re asking us to help them look into it and set it up,” said Cynthia Chan, the Shanghai-based regional managing director of the North Asia office of Singapore-headquartered design firm Space Matrix. “We’re also approaching our clients and telling them that this is something you should be looking at.”
The success of work-from-home arrangements has sparked talk of office buildings eventually being abandoned globally, as more employers allow remote working arrangements on a permanent basis.
An internal survey of clients within the region and the United States by Space Matrix, however, showed that companies were still looking for “face-to-face interaction and collaboration”.
“I can’t see offices becoming obsolete, but how they’re going to be used may change eventually. Their purpose, style and design principle – that will be consistently modified,” Chan said.
