Offices in post-virus world
Shared desks and co-working spaces may be off limits for some time following the coronavirus lockdown, experts say.
The country may go into level 2 next week — but offices will look very different.
Auckland University of Technology work psychology associate professor Rachel Morrison said there was still a risk of another Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand, and employees would be wary of hygiene.
‘‘Sharing desks and moving to another throughout the day, especially in big groups, won’t really be sustainable when we’re at alert level 2,’’ she said.
Overseas, offices have been called "cruise ships for Covid-19’’, with hot-desking (desk sharing) being particularly controversial.
Strict hygiene, social distancing, and staggered shifts are likely to be the office normal for some time.
‘‘While there’s still a threat of the virus spreading in the community, to be fair in New Zealand now that is really low, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will remain low,’’ Morrison said. ‘‘There could be another outbreak.’’
Organisations had the responsibility to make people feel safe, she said.
The rules were clear about social distancing in workplaces, and that could mean working at 50 per cent capacity, or in staggered shifts.
‘‘We may end up with a situation where offices are 24/7 so people can do the shifts, just so they can get work done if work needs to be done separately.’’
University of Auckland clinical molecular medicine and pathology associate professor Mark Thomas said the virus would affect ways of working for some time. ‘‘Those people sharing desks will be using the same chair, desk and keyboard as other people, and it’s difficult to completely decontaminate a computer.’’
Co-working spaces, where anyone can show up, might also be empty for some time. ‘‘At the moment, people should be limiting as much as possible when they go in to a shared space,’’he said.
People with coughs and colds should not be allowed to the office.
To date, the Government has not issued advice around hot-desking and co-working spaces.
Alert level 2 guidance from the Government encourages people to continue to work from home, but some employers will be aiming to get people back in the office.
Thomas said employers needed to reassess if working from an office was really necessary.
In the future, they’d need to respect employees who need sick days off, he said. ‘‘They have to actually stay at home if they’re sick ... their co-workers will be expecting that of them.’’