FOCUS FLOORING
FLOOR ZONES
The Coronavirus outbreak has completely changed the way that we work. With ƈnormality’ fi nally on the
horion, how can fl ooring in oƝ ces adapt to support the new oƝ ce landscape post-pandemic? (llen
5eith, Segment Marketing Manager for 2Ɲ ces at Forbo Flooring Systems, says fl oor oning can help
For the past year and a half, millions
of o ice-based sta around the UK
have been working from home as part
of measures to tackle the pandemic. As
part of the fourth and final stage of the
roadmap out of lockdown in England,
where all restrictions have been li ed,
the working from home guidance has
been scrapped. However, while the
government is neither advocating for
continued home working nor a full return
to the o ice, this means that inevitably,
it is down to the employer to make their
own decisions about when and how
employees may return safely to their
o ices.
While the o ice was traditionally
somewhere that people went every Monday
to Friday to carry out their day job, the
pandemic has proven the ability to be
productive while working from home.
Indeed, research from YouGov and CIPD
have indicated that the majority of workers
want to continue to work from home for at
least some of the time. Therefore, in order
to retain productivity and morale, it is likely
that the emergence of the hybrid working
model – where sta split their time between
working in the o ice and working remotely
– will be further embraced, both in the short
and long-term.
The adoption of flexible working patterns
will force organisations to re-evaluate the
purpose and design of the workplace as
we know it, as workers will want to come
into the o ice to connect, collaborate
and socialise with others. But how can
businesses leverage the physical o ice for
these collaborative activities, whilst still
allowing flexibility?
REIMAGINING THE OFFICE SPACE
Having been around since the early 2000s,
open plan o ice layouts certainly aren’t
uncommon. However, this new way of
flexible working means that more emphasis
will be placed on reimagining the open
plan o ice. For example, allocating fewer
desks to individual sta members can free
38 AUGUST 2021