How the COVID Pandemic Has Changed the Business Office
One of the biggest workplace shifts resulting from the COVID pandemic over the last two years is the growing number of people working from home either part or full time. In fact, newly published research from the Pew Research Center that surveyed 10,000 Americans found that nearly two years into the pandemic roughly 6 in 10 U.S. workers who say their jobs can be done from home are doing so all or most of the time. What challenges does that reality present to employers trying to determine how best to utilize their existing office space, furniture and related office assets and still provide a productive work environment?
“We’ve found the shift in how and where people are doing their jobs has provided a great opportunity for some employers to reimagine and reengineer their office space and furniture assets,” said Richard Fendley, CEO of Interior Fusion, a Florida based office furniture dealership providing full service planning, designing and installation solutions to businesses. “Office planning consultants like us can help them to adjust to this changing workplace environment and maximize their use of existing space and furniture.”
Some employers are taking advantage of changing office space needs by reconfiguring workspaces to make them more flexible for doing business in a mobile environment. Many traditional offices and office cubicles are now being reconfigured into shared touchdown stations that home-based or frequent traveling employees can share and use temporarily when coming to the office for meetings. Collaborative meeting space is also more important now than ever so that both in-office and at home work teams can stay connected via in person and virtual meetings. Other employers are using this opportunity to upgrade furniture that’s either outdated or not as suitable for a shared workspace environment. Office designers are working with clients to reconfigure existing furniture and how they can reengineer their space to get the most efficiency from what they have.
The pandemic has also caused some supply chain issues since many office furniture manufacturers either shut down completely or worked at reduced capacity for much of the past two years. Some suppliers were experiencing delays of many weeks or even months to fill backlogged orders. While these supply chain issues are slowly improving, office furniture vendors and office design planners are working with clients to take inventory of their existing furniture assets and are reshuffling those resources to provide suitable workspace while new furniture orders are being processed. In some cases vendors are offering loaner programs as a temporary solution until new furniture arrives.
Even though more employees are working from home than ever before, most companies will still need to maintain suitable office space for their permanent on-site staff. Today’s office environment is changing to reflect the times, especially since the pandemic forced businesses to think creatively on how to maintain their normal business environment as much as possible. Companies that are flexible and can blend alternative work environments, both in the office and at home, will have a win/win situation that benefits both the employer and its employees.
