Using tech to build a more agile workspace
The workplace in a post-covid world needs to re-evaluate priorities and be prepared to respond with swiftness and agility to the next big disruption.
To start with, minimising the transmission of virus and other pathogens as well as ensuring employee health are top priorities for all organisations. To that end, we’ve looked at how reconfiguring the workspace to allow physical distancing, and using technology smartly can go a long way in upholding these new priorities. In a pre-covid scenario, the open office plan that we worked with accommodated 50 people in the focused workspace with a total office capacity of 120 people. It comprised six types of spaces: High impact like the reception, which lent itself to face-to-face interactions; Plaza, like the pantry, which allowed free flow of movement; Learning centre, where people would sit and collaboratively work; Open and enclosed jump spaces, equipped with digital tools to allow teleconferencing and white boards to facilitate group discussions; Hive zones or focused work areas, which accommodated high density of employees; and Leadership work zones, for senior members of the company.
In the post Covid scenario, the reconfigured open office will seat fewer people, as the space allocated to each employee has increased with larger workstations and higher partitions, in keeping with social distancing norms. Agile workspaces like hive zones and jump spaces have been redefined. Close collaborative and communal spaces have made way for staggered seating; workstations are connected through digital tools that allow multiple users to work simultaneously and attend video conferences from their own stations; sliding panels create dynamic working and meeting spaces; and single occupancy pods and phone booths have been provided. Technology embedded in furniture allows workstations to be truly plug-and-play.
The reception, an area of face-to-face interactions has been replaced by a virtual reception that relies on smart technology and digital screens to convey information to visitors. Magazines, pens and pads, staple features of a reception, have been removed. Attendance systems have evolved to operate on facial and voice recognition technology. The carrying capacity of lifts, which lead up to a reception, is reduced to a fourth.
Technology can also be used effectively to minimise touch points like blinds, light switches, and toilets. Simple sensor-activated lights and faucets and smart window shades can be used, instead. Temporary plexiglass screens can be installed at various check-in points and hand-sanitiser dispensers as well as Ultra Violet phone sterilising stations can be placed in plain view.
Navigation is another vital aspect to the new office plan. Where earlier the movement was more free-flowing, a post Covid office must stagger entry and exit times to decongest arrival and departures. For instance, multiple shifts for lunch hour can be formulated to control the number of people gathered near the pantry at a particular time. Creating separate lanes for to and fro movement also decreases chances of transmission of pathogens.
NAVIGATE
F
E
F
Demarcate paths, such as a clockwise route on entry, to avoid free flow movement; stagger entry and exit times
D
Modifications to the open office, as seen in this floor plan, include reconfiguring furniture in focused work zones to ensure physical distancing, using technology to collaborate and creating distinct navigation paths
RECONFIGURE
D
The focused work zone will accommodate 28 instead of 50 people, ensuring 2m distance with use of barriers, staggered seating
D
TECHNOLOGY
B
C
A
Virtual reception with digital screens; sensors to minimise touch points; gadgets in work stations to allow faceless collaborations
Indoor air quality with indoor planters Sanitisation stations