BSEE
A very dicult queson to answer with the future uncertain and the Government doing more Uturns than a learner driver. This is mainly due to the conflict between Health, Economics and Wellbeing but leadership and a strategy is sorely lacking.
By Dr Andy Lewry, Senior Technical Associate at Focus FM
How do we return to work safely? And what will that workplace look like? The reality, despite the UK Government’s drive to get us back to the workplace, which they reversed in late September, is that the number of workers heading back to the office has increased in fewer than half of the UK’s biggest city and town centres, using data from the Centre for Cities High Street Recovery Tracker.
In central London and Manchester early August weekday footfall rose by just one percentage point compared to the early July. While Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham all saw no change and in Birmingham city centre the number of workers has fallen this summer.
Analysis from US bank Morgan Stanley’s research unit AlphaWise supports this by showing that almost three-quarters (69%) of employees in the British capital have not returned to their workplace and that about half (49%) of London office workers are working from home for five days a week.
The Government’s ‘back to work’ policy is driven by the persistently low numbers of workers going back into city centres and subsequent concerns for the future of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars that
depend on office workers for custom.
However, support for this policy is not mirrored by many. For example Alex Brazier, the Executive Director for financial stability at the Bank of England, a member of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said: “a sharp return to dense office environments should not be expected. Instead, we should expect a more phased return.” Additionally, he said: "I feel safe coming to work, but I quite understand why many people might not.”, and "It's not possible to use office space, particularly in central London and dense places like that, with the intensity that we used to use it." This aligns with announcements from companies stating that their workers would be allowed more flexibility in their working arrangements.
PwC’s latest CEO pulse survey indicates that over two thirds (68%) of UK’s CEOs believe there will be an enduring shift towards low density office usage, with the move towards remote collaboration resulting in long-term changes to office accommodation strategies. Against a backdrop where major organisations and retailers are considering repurposing or closing
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT What is the 'New Normal' for Facilities Managers?
properties within their portfolios, the survey reflects how changes in how we live and work will impact the business models of construction, infrastructure, real estate and housing organisations as they respond to this ‘new norm’. The lockdown has shown that remote working is feasible for the majority of the office population and that the consequences of home working are starting to
fundamentally filter into long-term thinking about existing office accommodation models. There was already a gradual but significant shift in the way people chose to consume – physical retail assets versus online, served via logistics warehousing for example – but with lock-down this home delivery trend has swiftly accelerated into food and perishable items with a new, often more elderly, buyer group joining the younger, tech-savvy generation. The result is likely to be different looking town centres and suburban areas in future which has larger real asset implications for the built environment with developers and investors needing to navigate this changing landscape.
In short-term, this puts a greater strain on the FMs who have to adapt
their buildings to be COVID 19 safe against a background of cost control due to lack of revenue streams and occupying organisations looking to downsize their square meterage or go completely to remote working. The good news for the environment is that reduced occupancy will in the short-term give reductions in energy usage both at building and transport infrastructure level – but this is probably just an illusion and in the long run will probably just be a blip. However, with the current Government adopting a ‘Roosevelt approach’ of supporting large infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy, it will probably help accelerate progress in the journey to Net Zero Carbon.
So, in order to safely re-occupy buildings and give staff confidence in the environment they are re- occupying, a number of issues need to be considered. This requires a number of steps such as those in CIBSE guidance:
• Plan a timeline and scope of works required, taking into account new working practices needed to accommodate specific guidance on minimising the risk of viral transmission.
18 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
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