20 JUNE 2021
In FMJ's regular monthly column, our team of FM experts answer your
questions about the world of facilities management
THE FACILITIES
MANAGER’S VIEW
TARNIAH THOMPSON,
REGIONAL FM, SHW
With many people away from the
oˆ ice for nearly a year during the
pandemic, a big debate has opened
up over ‘homeworking’, an option
that was previously job dependent.
It has seen many companies
utilising their break clauses,
downsizing their oˆ ice space and
revising their layouts.
Whereas the focus before was on larger spaces with more
desks per sq ‘ , it is now likely to be on fewer desks and more hot
desking opportunities. Companies are looking at how best to
use their oˆ ice space to maintain a turn-style based, quick set up
working environment.
Internal facilities have become more high tech, including
coˆ ee/tea making machines you do not have to touch
to operate. Companies are also adopting more of a
minimalist, holistic approach, such as increased
foliage in work areas. This not only looks great but
shows we are taking more notice of the benefits
of nature in workplace productivity and mental
wellbeing.
There is an element of bringing the working
from home environment to work but not
in the literal sense; it is making ‘being at
work’ comfortable. Do you remember the old
corporate furniture stationed in reception areas
once upon a time? The standard veneer oak
furniture for oˆ ice desks? Now we are looking at
white desks, or black modern types, complemented
by a range of colours in break out areas and chairs that are
from accessible shops like MADE.com.
I was recently at a tenant’s oˆ ice for a meeting with a colleague,
socially distanced across
a boardroom. Their oˆ ice
management team remotely
activated the conference
system; we were automatically
logged in to Microso‘ Teams. A
large flat screen was in front of us,
with remote controlled mics and a
hardwired webcam that panned and
zoomed whilst me and my colleague
spoke to the tenant and his team who were
on the call within their homes. I think this kind of
set up in oˆ ices will be required more to allow for better
team collaborations digitally.
For some, working from home is not an option and desk
booking will be needed to manage the diˆ erent levels of oˆ ice
attendance. This will give people the opportunity to change
desks and move around the oˆ ice, not be segregated in desk
clusters according to department. Long gone are the days of
being hidden away in small oˆ ices.
Dependent on one’s home dynamics – whether it be the eerie
silence, TV noise, or the continuous chatter of children asking for
snacks during your team conference call there is likely to be some
degree of acceptance to hybrid working. The oˆ ice needs to step
up if it is to cater for the varying demands of the workforce post
COVID.
OFFICE CONNECTIVITY SPECIALIST’S VIEW
TIM SHIRT, KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER, CMD LTD
COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work for good.
Employees, even those who are keen to get back into the oˆ ice,
want to bring elements of home comfort back to the workplace.
Employers, meanwhile, want to articulate a caring,
nurturing and welcoming environment with
a homelier, so‘ er oˆ ice interior. As a
consequence, we can expect to see more
use of natural materials and biophilia in
oˆ ice environments, creating a resicommercial
look and feel, with layouts
that enable both social distancing and
collaboration.
Social distancing will be with us for
a while, and it seems unlikely that
most businesses will return to allocated
workstations for every employee.
Electrical distribution systems such as
powertrack or power hub, are already
widely used in oˆ ice environments and
these will enable spaces to be reconfigured and
occupancy to be scaled up or down. The ability to locate
a tap oˆ anywhere on the network at 30cm intervals allows
FM CLINIC
How do you see the
pandemic influencing
workplace layout and
interiors? Will the experience
of working from home inspire
workplace specialists to
introduce organic and home
interiors-inspired textures and
colour palettes? And what kind
of solutions do you think will be
required to adapt o ice spaces to
support agile working, hot desking and
social distancing, while encouraging
cross-team working and digital collaboration?
Tarniah T hompson
ADVICE & OPINION
There is an element of
bringing the working from
home environment to work but
not in the literal sense; it is
making ‘being at work’
comfortable.”
Tarniah Thompson