FMJ.CO.UK WORKPLACE DESIGN CASE STUDY
JULY 2020 33
The last few months have been
a master class in agility. It has
been enforced on businesses of all
shapes and sizes as o ices closed and
employees adapted to working from
home. Now, FMs are playing an integral
role in helping organisations reinvent
themselves for this new agile era – not
just with short-term workplace fixes,
but long-term solutions that act on our
agile experiences and re-examine our
relationship with space.
The nature of how organisations use space
has been changing for some time. We’ve
already had the large scale move away
from cellular working in favour of open plan
o ices. We’ve also had the introduction
of activity-based working and the use of
di erent zones to support mobility in the
workplace. Now, COVID-19 is pushing this
evolution further and even the least agileready
organisations have started to make
changes.
So, what changes can we expect to see in
the wake of COVID-19?
One of the biggest changes we’ll see in the
short to medium term is that of more space.
Right now, social distancing has had a big
impact on our psyche. We’re not going to
feel comfortable in a crowded li or train for
some time.
At work, circulation spaces will become
wider, li capacity will be restricted, some
areas may be decommissioned altogether,
floor plates will be reconfigured, furniture
will be moved and spacing between desks
widened. New protocols will also be needed
to help people enter, exit and circulate
around spaces safely.
As space plans are revisited to take into
account these new challenges – it’s likely
to stimulate much wider discussion about
spatial needs and priorities. If the majority
of a 300 strong workforce can work from
home, could a smaller o ice geared towards
collaboration and client visits save money
and present an agile alternative? In a post-
COVID era, would o ices better serve as
brand hubs and places of significant shared
experiences – rather than just a building
to provide shelter from the elements?
We fully expect to see more businesses
asking these commercial, behavioural and
aspirational questions and re-evaluating
their needs with space utilisation studies,
cost comparisons, behavioural analysis,
sta surveys and new working models.
SPATIAL CHANGES
At the point of our collective return to
the o ice, personal space and control of
that space will be important to many and
this will require new things of facilities
professionals. It will be a di icult
balancing act as organisations seek to ride
a possible bumpy recession by looking
to optimise their people and property
outlays. Space and the perception of space
will be a priority.
WE ARE SOCIAL CREATURES
A er months of very limited face-to-face
contact we now know the true value of
socialisation. Not seeing colleagues faceto
face, no matter how good the remote
communicating technology, is an issue
for most businesses and FMs will now be
looking at ways to make the workplace
home to be a very sociable experience.
While the experience of work will remain
‘socially distanced’ for some time, we
can expect to see much greater focus
given to sociability and community. The
serendipitous chats at the co ee machine,
the banter and the ability to ask a quick
opinion are valuable parts of the social glue
that binds teams together at work.
Instead of rows of desks and static work
spaces, o ices will need to become places
where employees choose to be for the tasks
they can’t complete at home. Re-imagining
the workplace as a destination will involve
the use of more dynamic and interactive
zones that support knowledge sharing,
socialisation, collaboration and sta
engagement. When this is over, we will want
to reconnect with our colleagues more than
ever and workplaces must respond.
Most of us will have noticed that formality
has le ‘work’ over the last few months.
Once you have seen your boss or a client in
their kitchen with the kids interrupting or
a dog barking, working relationships won’t
ever be the same. Up close and personal
zoom calls have helped to make intimacy
become a new business necessity. The
acceptance, in these most exceptional of
Cleanliness is closely aligned with the
need for space too. Not only will the
workplace need to be seen to be cleaner,
with regular sanitisation throughout the
day, but employee etiquettes around
respecting and maintaining cleanliness
will have to be revisited and enforced. For
some this will bring an abrupt end to the
idea of shared spaces, which is particularly
challenging to the ‘ours to share’ mantra of
the agile o ice environment.
IMPROVING THE HOME OFFICE
Although the novelty of home working
may be wearing o for many, our enforced
agile pilot has sped up the acceptance
and necessity of remote working for
the masses. Employees with the right
kit, support and training have enabled
‘business as usual’ scenarios for their
organisations and FMs must now look
to turn what started as short term
fixes into longer term, workable agile
strategies. This will raise other challenges
in relation to formalised working from
home protocols, how home-working
set-ups are monitored, how duty of care
for employees is maintained and how IT
equipment, desks and chairs are paid for
and maintained.