Once upon a time… across offices everywhere, we all packed into tiny elevators without blinking an eye. We carefreely palmed door handles, hugged work colleagues, and left our visible fingerprints everywhere from the kitchen to the stationary cupboards…

Yet today, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an end to our old office lives, ushering in a new age of public-health awareness, sanitation savviness, and social distancing at work that no one can escape from.

This month has been the great return for many businesses, as the preparation, planning, and risk assessments are put to the test.

For the majority of office space providers, there are high expectations to provide a drastic new post-Covid-19 era of social distancing solutions that also incorporate comfort, professional focus and team energy.

At MSO, it’s not such a new concept.

We’ve been supporting our clients for over a decade, create innovative, functional, and fun office spaces through our whole office solutions from the interior fittings and installation to create a customised space, to collaborative spaces and even sourcing and installation of business-grade technology and communications suitable for our clients needs – the key being total flexibility.

The drastic new set of safety constraints of Covid, coupled with social distancing measures are an added requirement now in the office arena and one that we’re happy to step up to. Our flexibile methodology has become a champion of the new “dynamic workplace” and one that many other office providers will soon have to adopt to support their clients needs post-pandemic.

Tips to encourage a new, refined, and productive way of working:

1. The biggest ideas emerging are: Flexibility, Agility, and creating social environments.
2. Employers should make their onsite office experience interesting, sustainable, flexible, and programmed with special events to build culture in the future. This incorporates not only the physical design and infrastructure of the workplace but also the collaboration and continued connection of employees so you don’t lose those all-important ‘I had this idea…’ kind of conversations
3. The timing of when you bring employees back will be unique to you, your industry, and your teams. It’s more likely to be a marathon than it is a sprint to the office doors
4. People must feel safer in their surroundings and understand what is being done to prevent cross-contamination. Employers (and offices) must show what you are doing to make sure that it’s safe to work and communicate with other people in the same facility or office. This includes setting new boundaries and policies that are part of your operations manual.
5. Think long-term about “empowering employees to be their most productive and successful from anywhere, whether it’s in the office or from home. Virtual technology is vital for integrated communications.

If you are contemplating how your current office fits within the new world or looking for a new, de-risked, and flexible way to work in the future, we’d love to hear from you to see how MSO Workspace can help.