The return to the office is imminent. In fact, it’s happening right now. Across the UK, and in Leeds, teams are returning to the office after a year of working from home due to COVID.

This will come with its challenges.

Workforces have grown accustomed to working from home. Less traveling and more time for personal leisure have been huge advantages, however for many, working from home has been difficult.

Loneliness, segregation and an inability to progress within your role due to less training and in-person management have been rife in the last year – but that’s all about to end.

It’s now time for businesses to bring their teams back together and ensure that their staff have a safe return to the office post-COVID. Here’s how.

 

Cleaning and hygiene

Big on everyone’s agenda is cleaning and hygiene. We’ve spent so long seeing only our families, that re-joining a workforce of 20+ people or more can cause health anxiety post-pandemic.

Businesses will have to consider how their staff will feel safe within their building. By incorporating one-way systems, socially distanced workspaces, the requirement of masks and hand sanitizer stations, people are likely to feel more looked after and comfortable being around larger groups of people.

If your business hasn’t started considering this yet, now’s the time to start.

 

Split workforces

The old way of working is just that – old.

We can’t expect our workforce to come back into the office without any changes. An idea that many businesses are utilising is splitting their workforce. Group A comes into the office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Group B comes in Tuesday and Thursday.

By doing this, you’re ensuring less congestion in the office, more space for social distancing and an ease of health anxiety amongst staff.

 

Flexible hours

Another great way to ensure that at any given time, there are less people in your office, is by introducing flexible hours.

By allowing people to start at any time between 7-11am, and finish between 3-7pm, there will again be more space for hot-desking and social distancing.

Flexible working is becoming mainstream in the professional world, and if you’re not encouraging this amongst your staff, you might be falling behind your competitors. Worth noting!

 

A redesigned office space

The office space is going to look very different from now on.

Zoom rooms and siloed meeting rooms for ‘self-quarantined’ work will become huge in the coming year. Whilst people want to be around their colleagues and feel that community spirit, there will still be a desire to host client meetings remotely via Zoom, and work independently – like we’ve all been doing for 12 months.

Due to this, the office space will change, and as a business owner you need to consider the layout of your space, and whether it’s fit for purpose in a post-COVID world.

 

And that’s it

If you’d like to find out more about 12 King Street’s premium offering, get in touch with our agents Knight Frank on 0113 246 1533 or Fox Lloyd Jones on 0113 243 1133. And don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter so you can stay up to date on all things 12 King Street and Leeds.

 

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