Businesses around the world will be asking themselves the question, what measures will we need to ensure our employees are safe? Is it better to keep employees working from home instead of having to adopt these measures? Beyond government guidelines, this then comes down to individuals and their employers to discuss the best way forward.
A recent article published in Wired highlighted an interesting discussion around open plan working, and whether we will need to move away from this. The article states that 73% of UK workers use an open plan office - will we see a return to the 'cubicle farm' era? At least in the short term this seems a possibility.
There are innovative solutions to try and keep us safe at work being discussed currently. These include behavioural signage, non-contact infrared temperature screening and even using algorithms to map out where employees should sit.
We will have to wait for Sunday in the UK to see if the Government will provide further guidance which will shed more light on what a post lockdown workplace may look like.
Right now, offices around the UK are sitting empty while most of us work from home. But when lockdown lifts and workplaces are told they can start bringing employees back, they will return to a very strange environment. Government guidelines shared with businesses and unions this weekend gave a glimpse of what is yet to come. Hot desking will be curtailed and employees will be kept two meters away from each other with sticky tape on the floor; lifts will remain half empty and face-to-face meetings will be banned. Working hours will be staggered to reduce the amount of people in the office at any given time, and office canteens will be kept shut.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/social-distancing-office-cubicles