As COVID-19 continues to affect different industries, the working sector has primarily become a network of remote employees coming together through the cloud and streaming. Operations have drastically changed for businesses as urban office spaces that were once densely populated suddenly see empty halls and silence for months on end.
However, global leaders are starting to consider slowly restarting regular business practices over time. As people start adjusting to the new normal, here are some things workers can expect in the future, based on experts’ predictions and global powers’ plans.
- There will be a major cleaning before operations resume
Disinfection and sanitation have become ever more crucial in these times to kill any viral particles and bacteria that grow in hot spots that see frequent human interaction and movement.
When offices gear up to start normal daily operations again, there will be deep cleaning that includes everything from intensive scrubbing to employing industrial pest control. In Salt Lake City, assessments are offered by pest experts to check which locations are more prone to different types of pests. Infestations can go unmonitored after this period of closure, with insects or rodents taking up space now that the environment is not regularly cleaned and populated. Different offices may also attract various pests depending on the environment, humidity, moisture, and waste that was left behind. These measures will be necessary to ensure a clean slate for workers to start again.
- New guidelines will be put in place to prevent a resurgent outbreak
In China, the origin of the pandemic, measures are being taken to continue normalcy while still preventing the virus from seeing another mass transmission. Other countries should expect to see these as well, with people still wearing masks, workers continuing social distancing measures and staying far apart, and regular temperature and health checks being done to monitor conditions.
While everything is aimed to go “back to normal,” it will be a new iteration of it with some new restrictions previously unseen. For certain workplaces where it’s possible, employees may even see shortened hours and limitations on how many people can come in on-site at a time. Essential roles will likely be identified to ensure the best usage of space and management of resources to keep everyone’s wellness in check.
- Office spaces may diminish in size
A recent survey has shown that the majority of CFOs have put plans in place to continue remote work even after lockdowns lift. This new prevalence of work-from-home situations has revealed that a lot of positions in staff can mostly be relegated to home-based or offsite working instead of having to report to an office every day.
This is expected to reduce costs on commercial space, and more and more businesses are expected to opt for this route and end up making use of smaller spaces reserved for essential meetings, daily operations, and employees that need to report.
As the commercial district continues to see a significant standstill and the world works from the confines of each individual’s home, the waiting game for this new phase of the office space will depend on the next moves of our global leaders.
