privacy and acoustics - now they represent a physical separation between colleagues – Brent Capron
The ‘sneeze guard’ is one such low-cost, high-impact measure. Brent Capron, interior design director at global design practice Perkins and Will in New York, uses the term to describe an additional panel fitted between socially distanced desks. “Previously, workstations were about privacy and acoustics. Now they represent a physical separation between colleagues. Until we hopefully have a vaccine, having that physical barrier will make people feel more comfortable,” he says.
Distributed offices and rotating days
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many are heralding the end of the open-plan workplace and the return of small, private offices. Huddle rooms, for example, could be used as offices until social distancing protocols are relaxed. However, Amanda Stanaway, Sydney-based principal architect of architectural and consulting practice Woods Bagot, says the cellular office plan has “limited benefits for workplace culture and communication”.
Workplaces will use short-term fixes to boost employee confidence before looking at long-term solutions
Some of her clients, she says, are more interested in the idea of the distributed office. Shunning a crowded central hub for a distributed set of smaller offices that may be closer to where staff live could mean less exposure to infectious diseases like Covid-19 on public transport. “Having small groups of people working collaboratively would address the need for connections and improved mental health, but without risking massive exposure, where one person gets the virus and everyone else has to self-isolate,” she says.
In the short-term, it seems likely that many of us will remain working from home even after government orders to do so are lifted. A staggered workforce may become standard, with smaller groups coming in on alternate days and shifts that avoid transport rush-hour peaks.
“Organisations are working out who most needs to be at the office, and capping staff numbers off at about 30%, which is probably the sweet spot for social distancing,” says De Plazaola. For starters, he foresees firms subsidising home offices, given the home is now considered a legitimate workspace. This is something that could potentially allay concerns about
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