Giant Leap: Steps To Help You Get Your Staff Back to The Office

COVID-19 has brought chaos to the world and anxiety to all. We are all social creatures and most can’t wait to get back to the workplace to interact with their peers. We thrive on connecting with others.

Returning to the workplace should be a comfortable transition for people. However, before we can ask people to return to the office, we’ve got to make sure they feel safe, healthy, and valued in their workplace.

While remote working is proving to be a viable alternative for some people, it lacks the important social and collaborative aspects found in the workplace. And if we are honest, who among us doesn’t long for the day we can return to the office and a sense of normalcy?

At Giant Leap, the team believe that work distancing needs to be introduced until we know that COVID-19 is no longer a real threat to people and clients. We need to allow people back to the office after lockdown in an energising and comfortable manner.

We know from our own surveys and Genslers 2020 survey that the workplace is still the preferred place to work, as long as it is designed to support the work been done.

At a strategic level, leaders can begin to question the viability of working from home which is based on the job required and industry, however, factoring in the levels of isolation people get from been at home too long.

While long term strategies can be worked on for the new workplace it is important for us to focus on what we can implement to assist businesses in returning to normal as quickly as possible from a health and safety point of view.

Safety first

We need to restart the engine. People want to get their staff back to the office as quickly and healthily as possible. However, safety and health barriers are needed. This is a major concern in the corporate world at present and more companies are thinking out of the box to apply wisdom and increased safety measures to get their workforce back as soon as possible. Companies need to be able to plan for social spaces that are also Covid-19 proofed.

New ways of working need to be considered and innovative new layouts explored. Now is the opportunity to design resilient workspaces for future pandemics and rethink layouts.

In this new world of work, people need to remain informed about new safety protocols. It needs to be visible that surfaces have been cleaned. Workers need to understand the cleaning and sanitising processes put in place for their protection. Desks may need to be paperless and screens implemented to protect employees.

Creative collaborations

Team collaboration and business culture is difficult, but not impossible, to drive from remote working spaces. Many employees struggle to be creative and innovative without being in the office. The office is therefore also the place for people to collaborate. Businesses now have to come up with solutions on how to design for distance but still promote interaction.

The reality is, lockdowns haven’t had people working at full speeds so although the home office may still play a role this isn’t a true test.

Adjusting behaviours

People need to be trained to adjust their behaviours in the office. If we want to be fast and competitive to survive this crisis we need to get people back to the office and wellbeing has to be front of mind for companies. Changes need to include mental and emotional adjustments as well. we have to make changes in our office to make people safe and explain our cleaning protocols etc
working from home is a challenge for employers. Hard to know what people are really doing and you can’t engage at the same level with others working remotely.

People need people
Our world is built upon communities. In communities we thrive, innovate and work optimally. Some forms of business cannot operate in isolation and it becomes increasingly difficult to manage teams remotely. The truth is that people need people and people also need communication.

The office is often a circle of trust for staff. Businesses and office designers need to operate in such a way as to enhance this circle of trust. It is no longer about cramming people in an office space. On the contrary, the office needs to be a safe space – where staff feel at ease to be able to create and thrive. Offices need to reflect the culture of the business and organisations, if they are to survive this new world of work, need to adjust their behaviours and put new protocols in place.