SECURITY
FULLY OCCUPIED: SECURITY IMPLICATIONS FOR RETURN-TO-OFFICE MANDATES
Facilities managers, who have spent the last few years adapting to the complexities of hybrid work, now face a new challenge as businesses plan to bring employees back to the office full- time. Jamie Allam, CEO of Amthal Group Companies, highlights how this shift presents both challenges and opportunities, particularly when it comes to ensuring the security of office environments in a rapidly changing landscape.
According to a recent survey from Resume Builder, 90% of companies are expected to implement return-to-office (RTO) mandates by the end of 2024. The movement is being led by major organisations, including Amazon, whose CEO Andy Jassy recently announced plans for a full return to the office at the start of 2025.
A shift from hybrid to full-time
office work The rise of hybrid work over the past few years has reshaped the way employees interact with their workspaces.
Employees have been splitting their time between working onsite and working from home, giving facilities managers new responsibilities, like managing the dynamic flow of people in and out of offices; ensuring security for a fluctuating workforce; and adapting office layouts to meet evolving needs.
As companies announce plans to bring their employees back into the office full-time, facilities managers must now pivot once again.
The challenges of hybrid work, such as securing both physical spaces and digital data for a remote workforce, will now be replaced by the demands of managing full- time office environments.
The return of a consistent in-office workforce means FMs will need to reassess security systems, adjust access control and improve monitoring capabilities to ensure compliance, together with the safety and efficiency of a fully staffed office.
The security implications of return-to-
office mandates A full office staff allows for a more stable, comprehensive approach to accommodate a high-traffic environment. It demands more rigorous access control, visual verification, visitor management and monitoring.
A larger, more concentrated workforce means increased opportunities for unauthorised access, data breaches, and internal security threats. FMs must proactively anticipate these risks and implement robust security measures to mitigate them.
Re-evaluating access control During the peak hybrid era, many organisations implemented flexible systems, such as mobile apps or cloud-based keycards, to allow employees to access the office when
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needed. With the return of a full workforce, these systems must be reassessed for both capacity and security.
FMs could upgrade access control systems to include more advanced technologies such as biometric identification, reducing the risk of lost or stolen keycards and ensuring only authorised individuals have access to sensitive areas.
It also necessitates a review of how access is granted and monitored. FMs will need to adjust protocols to manage a higher volume of people entering the office daily. This could involve implementing time-specific access to different areas based on roles and responsibilities, and more frequent monitoring of access logs to detect any unusual activity.
Strengthening surveillance and monitoring systems With more people onsite, the need for comprehensive surveillance systems increases. During hybrid work, many office spaces were underutilised, and security cameras or monitoring systems could be concentrated in key areas.
With the full return of employees, surveillance must now cover all areas of the building, including common spaces, meeting rooms, parking lots, and exterior entrances.
FMs should invest in high-resolution cameras with real- time monitoring capabilities, allowing security personnel to respond instantly to potential threats or breaches. When planned early, these can be designed to blend with their surroundings to maintain office aesthetics.
Integrating these systems with security infrastructure and building management software alongside increasingly sophisticated AI-driven analytics can enhance security by automatically detecting suspicious behaviour or unauthorised access, reducing the need for constant human oversight. All working together to create a seamless and robust security and fire safety network.
Addressing visitor management With the office at full capacity, the influx of vendors, clients, and other external visitors increases significantly, presenting potential security risks if not properly managed.
FMs must ensure an effective visitor management system is in place. This system could include pre-registration processes, allowing visitors to be vetted before arriving onsite. Upon arrival, visitors can sign in digitally, providing
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