COVID-19 was a wake-up call for everyone. From individuals to families, from startups to blue-chip companies - the effects of COVID-19 have largely disrupted nearly all aspects of life, provoking everyone to rethink how we live and interact with each other.

Arguably, the most affected are businesses of all sizes. In the span of a few weeks, they had to pivot their operations and change the way they work entirely. Some offices are still empty, while in others life spurs back.

One thing is certain: the future of the office is unclear. Will we stick to remote working where possible for the next few years?

Did the pandemic make us more aware of the advantages of remote working -- enough to carry on working outside the office even after the danger is gone?

Are people happier working from home or do they crave their normal office life back?

We’ll try to answer these questions and others in the following article.

A Growing Trend Amid a Health Crisis

It’s safe to say that the remote working idea was here well before the pandemic struck.

Before COVID-19, some companies were already restructuring and redesigning their office space. You can say it was an emerging trend that was slowly gaining traction. The pandemic has accelerated the process and turned a trend into a normal approach almost overnight.

Sixty-one percent of global companies had some sort of remote working policy before the pandemic, according to a global survey carried in 2019 by Merchant Savvy.

Image Source: Merchant Savvy

By 2018, the United Kingdom was among the top five countries with the highest number of remote workforce - and this is way before COVID-19.

The UK work-from-home situation before the coronavirus showstopper

Number of people working at or near home in the UK, January to December 2019:

(Image Source: Office for National Statistics)

For the 12-month period from January to December 2019, of the 32.6 million people in employment, around 1.7 million people reported working mainly from home, with around 4.0 million working from home at some point in the week prior to the interview. Meanwhile, 8.7 million people say they have worked from home and 2.9 million people work either in the same grounds or buildings as their home or use home as a base.

Fast-forward to 2020 and these numbers have obviously risen. It’s not rocket science that COVID-19 protocols have forced businesses to allow their employees to work from home in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

The number of companies with staff working from home, especially in Europe, has risen to 88 percent compared to four percent before the health crisis, according to another study.

The changing attitudes and ever-increasing options for networking online coupled with the goal to attain a perfect work-life balance have significantly contributed to the prevalence of remote working.

As the world looks towards the future with optimism, companies now have to determine how many of their employees should report to the physical office versus what percentage will work from home.

It was predicted that by 2020 half of the UK workforce alone would be working online. Now, thanks to COVID-19, we have come to see remote working as an integral part of the future of work.

Rethinking The Office Set-Up

Ever wondered why office work gets such a bad reputation when it comes to coronavirus transmission? It’s simply because the pre-COVID office can no longer handle the number of employees that it did before if social distancing is anything to go by.

We need fewer people in the office. It’s something we’ve said way before the pandemic. The office as we know it needs to be completely re-designed. Of course, we can’t shut down all offices completely.

Nor can we live in lockdown forever.

To survive, we need direct contact, which means going back to the social order of things.

But will the world ever be the same after COVID-19? Undoubtedly, some changes are here to stay, and one of them is remote working.

Why? Because working out of the office has gained a lot of fans even before the pandemic.

Eighty-nine percent of employees working from home believe that it has reduced their expenditure. Very little or no more commuting, no daytime meals/snacking (lunch and coffees) -- all contribute to less money spent and a better quality of life.

It is estimated that the average worker saves £44.78 thanks to remote working. Companies also admit to benefits in terms of reduction in office costs. When you consider that office rent in Scotland is, on average, about over £30 per square foot per month, then a reduced workforce in the office is a huge expense reduction.

The benefits of remote working are palpable for both workers and employees. Still, this relatively new concept has its set of disadvantages in terms of organisational culture, employee teamwork, monitoring, etc.

The truth is that the social aspects of the physical office are beneficial. There is something powerful about meeting workmates and clients in a physical space, sharing jokes, exchanging ideas, and having a meal together.

These aspects help build a strong working relationship and positively influence organisational culture.

Presently, 82 percent of employees admit to reduced focus while remote working. One in five workers admit to struggling with loneliness, and 67 percent admitted to stress resulting from overworking.

The post-pandemic world calls on us to examine the pros and cons offered by both solutions (physical office versus remote working) and come up with an agile approach to work.

Preparation for Staff Comeback

The future of work entails providing employees with the option to work from home or the office. Ninety-eight percent of workers like working remotely and 63 percent of workers feel that they are more productive when working from home.

Therefore, the post-pandemic world calls for companies to leverage the benefits accrued from working from home and still maintain a physical space where employees can meet physically.

You know, the best of both worlds.

But to offer solid options and prepare for the staff return (even if it’s a partial return), office managers need to re-think the working space.

Luckily, there are a variety of options that companies can utilise in the physical office to minimise the risk of infection.

One solution involves setting the office layout to include a 2-meter space between employees. But the distance does not have to have that chronic feeling we get from hospitals.

We know that this is easier said than done. Or perhaps it’s easier for us to speak of it since this is what we do best.

At Amos Beech, we have built a name for ourselves by creating bespoke, cost-friendly interior office design solutions that offer an aesthetically-pleasing look and an ambiance that motivates the modern workforce and inspires out-of-the-box creativity.

Traditional offices partitioned workers using cardboard or plexiglass dividers. However, in the post-COVID world, creativity has to take center stage. Partitions need to look like deliberate design options, not something built solely out of necessity.

Some companies have already transitioned to open space offices. But if you are still preparing for your staff’s return, you can re-create the office space using desk partitions and office dividers. Floor-to-ceiling partitions, for instance, can light up a place and serve a practical purpose, too.

This redesigned workplace can be utilised to help with maintaining the right occupancy levels and with social distancing at the same time. All for making sure your office is COVID-secure and still a fun place to work in.

The future office space also has to uphold stricter hygiene rules. You can begin by introducing a clear desk policy, where surfaces are adequately cleaned daily. Additionally, make sure you place hand sanitisers at touchpoint areas (for example, in the reception area, in meeting rooms, near doors, kitchens, tea prep areas, and near printers).

COVID-19 is spread by touching surfaces or objects. Therefore, the future office has to sanitise high-risk surfaces and objects. Don’t worry; we don’t have to become sanitation experts for this. The good news is that there are solutions to this. One of them is using non-septic antimicrobial surface wraps for door handles.

You can check out more tips for safe office spaces here.

Apart from recalibrated spaces and increased hygiene, returning to the office will also come with a change in shifts (no more 9 to 5) to reduce occupancy levels and maintain safety.

Reopening the office after COVID-19 does not have to be expensive or nerve-wracking. There are simple, cost-effective solutions, and when you incorporate remote working among them, you are likely to build a healthier team.

What Happens When the Vaccine Is Rolled Out?

There is hope for tomorrow as scientists around the world have been busy looking for a vaccine. To date, there are over 115 vaccine candidates, of which 78 are confirmed as active, and 37 remain unconfirmed.

There’s clearly light at the end of the tunnel as out of the 78 actively confirmed vaccine options, 73 are already at the preclinical stages.

Once the vaccine is out, will things go back to normal at the office? A famous quote says that:

“those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”

The post-COVID era calls for us to draw lessons and make life-altering changes.

Change in the workplace means introducing more collaborative spaces and keeping work from home an integrated part of our working life.

Global companies have already embraced the alternative to work options. Facebook introduced a remote-working policy that allows their staff members to transition to remote work permanently.

The social media giant also plans to create positions that will enable remote hires. Google also adopted a remote working policy that will allow for only about 30 percent of its employees to return to the office.

Google opted to redesign the office space to ensure its workers remain at least two metres apart. The company also made changes to its recreation amenities and imposed a temporary closure to its world-class cafeteria.

If you look at how the giants are still preparing their offices, one thing is clear: the new normal will involve at least some remote working.

The Future of Work & Office

The 9 to 5 as we know it (or knew it) now is a trend that was created in the industrialisation era.

Back then, business leaders advocated for daily commutes because it made perfect sense to have everyone under the same roof, given the lack of tech solution to support hour tracking and communication.

Even with the advancement of technology and internet connectivity, the 9 to 5 phenomenon remained largely unchanged as most business owners and managers felt the need to supervise their workers to ensure productivity.

But times have changed, and COVID-19, as well as the environmental issues we’re now facing (a complex topic to be debated another time), call for business leaders to embrace alternatives to in-office work.

Remote working has the potential to increase productivity as it reduces the stress experienced from commuting and offers employees the freedom to work from anywhere.

Today's workers (at least 70 percent of them) feel that a job ad that offers flexible working is more attractive. Also, 89 percent of workers admit that their productivity and effectiveness significantly improved due to flexible work schedules.

Therefore, companies stand to gain by adopting flexible work approaches. Yet only a handful of jobs are advertised as being flexible. Perhaps it’s time we learned a valuable lesson from this pandemic and, instead of craving our “old” lives back, take a breather to consider how to improve our “new” lives, especially where work is concerned.

Although unlikely based on the information we have so far, COVID-19 may disappear within a year or two. But this doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of reasons in favor of remote or flexible working.

Urban pollution is primarily a result of human activities. Anthropogenic factors such as transportation, light and noise pollution, and waste exacerbate global environmental threats. By re-thinking the future of work, companies will contribute to a change that has far-reaching consequences:

• Less office waste

• Reduced fuel use (minimal commute to work)

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions

• Reduced energy use (less office space means less lighting and less use of electricity)

Case Study: Amos Beech

At Amos Beech, we strongly believe in practicing what we preach. So we’re not urging you to consider adapting your work environment from our crammed office.

Amos Beech was one of the first Scottish companies to adopt remote working. We began implementing remote working years ago and never looked back. Our staff is located across several Scottish town and cities, so it made perfect sense for us to implement a flexible working policy.

Driven by innovation and the need to help businesses get the best out of their office space and workers, we wanted to share our knowledge in making the most out of your office space. So we have set up iOtSpace, a worklace consultancy that effectively manages flexible workspace environments with the iotspot® smart workplace platform.

The iOtSpace app works by showing real-time availability for each workspace. The app has a color-coding system that helps you occupy a workspace on the spot or book it in advance from home.

When you use the app, the color green indicates which workspaces are free. Blue is for reserved space and red for occupied space. The app also shows you who is using what workspace. This way you can coordinate with your team better and avoid cramming the office needlessly.

The Wrap Up

COVID-19 has made remote working an integral part of the future workplace. Before that, businesses were still debating about the pros and cons of remote working. Some business leaders were concerned that remote working could negatively affect their employees’ productivity, organisational culture, and creativity.

However, the pandemic brought the world at a near standstill and brought more attention to remote working. The debate was suddenly over and even the most avid remote work critics were forced to implement it.

So far, remote working has been convenient for both employees and employers, not to mention life-saving and money-saving. There have been reduced absenteeism rates and improved employee wellbeing. Moreover, the positive impact of flexible workplaces will probably motivate most businesses to maintain this approach to work in the post-COVID era.

As the world opens up gradually, the future of office work will leverage technology and innovative designs to find the most appropriate and effective way of continuing with work without harming productivity or the employees’ health.