Beyond Abbott and Costello- thinking strategically about the workspace

In an earlier post I outlined the basic strategies for returning to the office, or in Abbott and Costello's famous words, managing 'Who's on First' and 'What's on Second'.

In this post I outline some of the opportunities to rethink the physical environment from a strategic perspective, rather than purely a physical distancing perspective. A return to the office environment is dependent upon re-evaluating the purpose of the existing useable spaces in the office, and making cost effective changes to respond to new user and organisational needs. This is the time to rid yourself of existing assumptions about how things should be in the workplace.

Spatial Adjacencies- who sits where

When looking at the floor plans and assessing how to meet social distancing requirements, organisations are generally decomissioning every other work point. However consideration should also be given to where people are seated when in the office, and who their 'close-ish' neighbours should be.

If staff are successfully working virtually with their immediate team, perhaps when they are in the office it is more critical to seat them near people from other divisions rather than their own division. In this way the physical workplace could be a tool to minimise siloed thinking, which could become a risk in remote working scenarios. Alternatively, if the culture within a team needs to be nurtured, or junior staff need mentoring from their managers, the existing adjacencies could remain more or less untouched and reflect a more traditional model of zoning.

Shared resources- invite only

Along with more stringent cleaning, an additional buffer to potential infection can be created by reducing the number of people who access shared amenities such as breakout areas and utility points. This will ensure if there is a breakout of the virus, it is less likely to spread through the entire organisation. Instead of one central area to reheat food and get a drink, multiple smaller tea points could be provided. With changes to ownership, clear guidance will be needed regarding which areas belong to which groups of people.

Changing what's provided in the workplace

If people return to the office in order to connect with colleagues, perhaps more open collaborative areas are required. Additional spaces and programs for recharging or exercise, in which looking after people's health and wellbeing takes centre stage, is another reason people may be enticed to take the commute to work. Space for display may be desirable, to ensure people stay informed and engaged; it's easy to miss a message on slack, harder to miss a massive poster taking pride of place in the lobby. If there is an increasing number of people walking or cycling to work to avoid crowded public transport, or who have taken the stairs rather than a crowded a lift, additional locker facilities and spaces in which to change and freshen up may be needed. A larger IT area to assist people with remote working issues may also be desirable. Certainly giving space over to sanitising stations is a given.

Challenge assumptions

With a multitude of new expectations placed on our office environment, it is important to have a clear picture of the various ways that people will want to engage in the space, and conversely what you want to foster when people are on site. The changes to the physical environment need not be high cost. With most organisations working with tight budgets, it's about thinking carefully about reallocating what you already have, and identifying the interventions with the greatest positive impact.

Behaviours

It is much easier to reconfigure the physical office environment, but harder to ensure all people are behaving in a responsible manner all the time. How will you ensure that people adhere to social distancing, follow a clean desk policy to enable appropriate cleaning each day, and undertake frequent hand washing while in the workplace? Without staff committed to responsible behaviours, all other spatial efforts to create a safe and productive work environment will be undermined. Visual reminders, whether it numerous well signposted, sanitising areas, or temporary floor markings to indicate 1.5m, will play some role in helping to people to remember the rules, but it will not be enough. Consideration must be given to ensuring that people are engaged and motivated to do the right thing, and complacency does not set in.

Julia Simmons, founder of Space Matters, helps organisations to think strategically about their space.

Contact Julia at julia.simmons@spacematters.com.au