DESIGN AND INTERIORS
HEALTHIER WORKSPACES
As the nation heads back to work, FMs must look closely at their workspace interiors to find simple ideas to adopt for long term employee health, suggests Ollie Plastow, Project Director at Consensus Workspace.
COVID-19 has had a huge impact on us all and businesses across the UK are now embracing flexible working in a way they never predicted, with almost 50% of Brits working from home full or part-time in June, according to ONS.
While there is a need to ensure homeworkers have the support and IT structures needed, there is also pressure for many organisations to open up their offices and bring people back to work in order for the economy to recover.
But how should those offices work? The traditional office has gone through many stages in recent years.
Going back just a couple of decades, everything was very modular, with a leaning towards an impersonal newsroom layout and hierarchical private offices for senior staff. The impact of the creative industries then led to more individuality being introduced into offices. Silicon Valley was the inspiration as slides, bean bags, table tennis or pool tables were introduced, with huge sofas for breakouts and much more communal working areas dominated modern offices.
The growth of the entrepreneurial economy then heralded more shared workspaces as the freelance population grew, with completely open plan layouts, large artisan style kitchens (with free beer) and a design that was much more ‘home’ than ‘office’, thanks to a real focus on furnishings, light, plants and overall wellbeing.
Post-COVID however, things are looking a little different. Changes will need to be made in order to welcome people back to the office environment - even if on a flexible or part time basis - but there’s no need to panic, this doesn’t mean you have to plan a complete recalibration. With some simple adjustments, your office interior can be fitted out to perform effectively and efficiently in time to welcome in the next era.
Prepare to knock walls down It sounds a lot more dramatic than it is: many offices and workspace interiors have stud walls anyway and even if not, it’s actually quite simple to knock a wall down to open up a space. There are areas in your office now that will not be as important as others. If you need to increase one area to expand another and provide more light, space and air, then this should not hold you back.
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Expand the kitchen Think canteen style, even if it’s a small space. Just like at home, the kitchen can be the heart of the office. For the wellbeing of your employees, they need to feel able to comfortably cook, prepare drinks and meet one another there. Some changes will need to be made, however. We are working with a number of clients to change their kitchen layouts and create a one-way system - in simple terms, this means duplicating everything. Two sinks, two microwaves, two kettles, two fridges. Create a flow with a barrier down the middle, that way people can still socialise and engage - but safely.
Add windows Fresh air has always been healthier than air conditioning so if your headquarters have an outside wall, consider adding more windows. It doesn’t have to be too costly and makes all the difference from a mental and physical health point of view. Metal bars are not a barrier – the
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