ARCHITECTURE may adapt well to working remotely, there are a host of individual considerations and circumstances that must be considered before employing new workplace practices more broadly. Namely, do the people you’re asking to work from home have the environments and tools needed to effectively do this? Will their living or household arrangements allow them to be productive at home? Which allowances are you prepared to make knowing that even those who work remotely full time often want occasional interaction with others? Alongside a strategic exercise, workplace leaders should leverage what they’ve learned during this crisis to fuel creativity and agility in their organizations. Here are several workplace remedies that can be implemented now: Transition to unassigned seating that allows employees to establish their own boundaries and pick a seat that enables distancing. People will have different comfort levels to returning to the workplace and should be empowered to make choices about where they are comfortable working upon return. Increase options for how – and where – staff work, which might include more scrum spaces, focus work spaces, and lounge seating. Consider going to a four-day work week and staggering teams across five days to reduce density by up to 20 percent on any given day. Reorient work points so individuals do not directly face each other. Remove seats at communal tables and in conference rooms to give people additional personal space. Or transition these rooms into scrum spaces by removing the table entirely to give people more space and eliminate touchpoints. Install voice activation or hands-free automation
controls that reduce the need to contact commonly touched items. Create clean desk policies that allow surfaces to be properly cleaned daily and update facility maintenance contracts to ensure these steps are taken. Switch to VOIP communication technology instead of phone handsets and eliminate shared keyboard trays. Assign lockers, file drawers, or storage cabinets to individuals to separate personal items. Remove trash cans from individual desks and replace them with a communal location that consolidates sanitation. Consider furniture and equipment upgrades with antimicrobial materials. Meeting room technology and design must facilitate an experience that works for a mix of virtual and in-person participants. Establish screening protocols and fever checks for everyone entering the workplace. Work with building management to improve air circulation, filtration, and ventilation and confirm cleaning protocols. Incorporate increased natural light and facilitate programming that focuses on mindfulness and the health and wellness of staff. Consider how company culture can be built with a workforce that may now be divided between the office and their homes with creative internal web platforms and technology. While the full impact of COVID-19 on work and the workplace has yet to be determined, we hope the ideas and strategies shared here provide some direction. As Kansas City’s workplaces and businesses adjust to a new normal post COVID-19, there is opportunity to reimagine how – and where – your people work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peter Sloan, AIA, is the director of design, interiors for HOK’s Kansas City practice. He specializes in workplace strategy and design. peter.sloan@hok.com
12 | TODAY KANSAS CITY | SUMMER 2020
